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Geology-Geophysics  Library 
4597  Geology 
University  of  California 


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OF        KENTUCKY 


(Hovey  and  Call) 

WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  COLOSSAL 
CAVERN 

REVISED  EDITION 


Sy  HORACE  CARTER  HOVEY,  D.  D..  F.  G.  S.  A. 

1912 

IVith  Historical  Urates.  Scenic  Accounts.  'Descriptive  and 
Scientific  dM^atters  of  Interest  to  'Oisitors,  based  upon  neio  and 
original  explorations.        v^        ^        ^        v^        v^        N^       Ng 

LOUISVILLE 
JOHN    P.    MORTON    &    COMPANY 

1   N   C  ()  K  !■  ()  K  A    I    i:  U 


COPYRIGHTED  1912 
BY  JOHN  P.  MORTON  &  COMPANY 

INCORPORATED. 


1,^ 

Library 


PREFACE  TO  REVISED  EDITION 
'^ 

In  1897  two  cave-hiinters,  Horace  Carter  Tlovey  and 
Hichard  Ellsworth  Call,  at  first  separately  then  jointly, 
prepared  a  manual  of  the  ^lanimoth  Cave.  Both  of  them 
had  made  frequent  and  prolonged  visits  to  the  Cave, 
and  were  able  to  say  that  they  had  personally  seen 
every  part  of  it  then  known.  They  had  previously 
written  articles  for  popular  and  scientific  periodicals, 
and  their  membership  in  scientific  societies  in  this  and 
other  lands  aided  their  research.  Originally  their  work 
was  of  composite  authorship,  in  the  sense  that  any 
chapter  written  by  one  would  ])e  revised  by  the  other. 
Their  aim  was  to  give  the  latest  and  most  exact  word 
as  to  cavern  history  and  scenery,  heights,  depths,  dis- 
tances, and  magnitudes.  Facts  not  for  the  first  time 
found  here  in  print  were  compiled  from  authentic 
sources  with  acknowledgments. 

During  the  fourteen  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
then  changes  and  discoveries  have  l)een  made  that  de- 
manded a  revision  of  the  original  manual,  and  l)y  nnitual 
agreement  this  task  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  senior  author. 
Numerous  alterations  have  l)een  made  in  the  text,  siil»- 
ject-matter  has  been  rearranged,  and  much  new  material 
has  been  added.  Throughout  this  revision  it  has  l)een 
my  desire  to  give  ampk;  credit  to  my  former  co-labori'r, 
though  it  has  not  been  deemed  essential  to  give  by  name 
the  exact  authorship  of  the  several  chapters,  further 
than  by  means  of  the  preliminary  Synopsis.  Many  of 
the  drawings  and  photographs  of  cave  fauna  were  pre- 
pared by  or  for  Dr.  Call,  though  for  those  of  the  blind  fish 
we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Eigenmann  and  the  courtesy 

(iii) 


iV  PREFACE. 

of  the  Carnegie  Institution.  Thanks  are  due  to  Messrs. 
Albert  C,  Janin  and  Henry  C.  Ganter  for  the  use  of 
copyrighted  cuts  (mainly  by  the  late  Ben  Hains),  as 
well  as  for  personal  attentions.  Renewed  recognition 
is  given  to  tiie  officials  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville 
Kailroad  for  transportation  and  other  facilities  accorded 
in  the  earlier  and  the  later  work  done  in  preparing  this 
volume. 

The  general  Guide-Map  of  the  Cave,  made  by  me 
after  consulting  former  maps,  and  with  certain  cor- 
rections suggested  by  Mr.  ]\Iax  Kaemper,  brings  Cave 
cartography  down  to  the  present  time.  As  the  Cave  is 
now  exhibited  by  four  routes,  instead  of  by  two,  this 
has  been  indicated,  as  far  as  practicable,  by  textual 
changes  and  foot-notes ;  and  it  is  made  still  more  clear 
by  the  special  charts  of  these  routes. 

Any  one  wishing  a  less  expensive  ^Manual,  prepared 
expressly  for  the  guidance  of  visitors  over  the  regulation 
routes,  is  referred  to  my  small  Handbook,  pul)lished  by 
John  P.  ]\Iorton  &  Company.  For  terms  of  exhibition, 
and  hotel  rates,  apply  to  the  ^Manager  of  the  Mammoth 
Cave,  Kentucky. 

Horace  Carter  Hovey. 

Newburyport,  Mass. 


SYNOPSIS 

1.  General  Map;  and  Route  Charts.    (Hovey.) 

2.  The    Cavern   Region   of    Kentucky,    and    Cave- 

^Making,     (Hovey.) 

3.  Historical   Sketch  and  Environment.      (Hovey 

and  Call.) 

4.  Tpie  Route  op  Pits  and  Domes.     (Call.) 

5.  The  Main  Cave  Route  ;  to  Chief  City  and  Violet 

City.     (Hovey.) 

6.  The  River  Route,  to  the  Maelstrom  and  Hovey's 

Cathedral.     (Hovey.) 

7.  The  Natural  History  of  the  Cave  ;  its  Fauna  and 

Flora.     (Call.) 

8.  Blind  Animals  ;  their  Environment  and  Devolu- 

tion.    (Hovey.) 

9.  The  Colossal  Cavern.    (Hovey.) 


IV) 


ROUTE    IV 

TOTHE^LVELSTROM 

AND  TO 

hoveyS  cathedral 


MOVtrS    CATHCDR 


tn  ulnjruJM.C 


•       THE  CAVERN  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY 
AND  CAVE  MAKING 

LARGE  caverns  are  limited  to  regions  favorable  to 
the  process  of  cave-making.  Kentucky  is  pecul- 
*  iarly  such  a  region.  Along  rocky  sea-coasts 
grottoes  are  numerous  and  often  beautifiiL  But  the 
mighty  billows  that  carve  the  granite  into  natural  tun- 
nels, or  spouting  horns,  or  fantastic  arches,  also  break 
down  their  own  products,  and  transform  grottoes  into 
chasms,  embayments,  or  straits.  This  destructive 
agency  has  been  so  vigorously  active  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  that  not  a  cavern  can  be  found,  from  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  deep  enough  to  exclude 
the  daylight.  "With  ice  caves,  and  those  formed  in 
lava-beds,  or  among  coral  islands,  and  in  granitic  regions, 
we  need  not  here  concern  ourselves. 

Limestone  regions  vary  according  to  their  exemp- 
tion from  or  exposure  to  mountain-making  forces. 
The  limestones  of  Virginia,  for  instance,  have  been 
upheaved  and  shaken  by  orogenic  action  until  they  are 
cracked  and  fissured  by  seams  running  in  every  direc- 
tion. These  were  easily  enlarged  by  the  action  of  water, 
and  were  thus  developed  into  countless  grottoes,  some  of 
which  have  gained  a  world-wide  celel)rity.  But  the 
fractured  condition  of  the  rocks  limited  the  process  of 
cave-making;  and  in  size  the  A'irgiuia  caves  are  insignifi- 
cant, compared  witii  the  enormous  excavations  found 
in  the  homogeneous  and  n.arly  undisturl)ed  limestone 
regions  of  Kentucky  and  other  States  of  thi'  central  West. 

Then,  again,  the  conditions  of  the  country  rock  vary 
as  we  descend  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  About  Cincin- 
nati and  Covington  the  Lower  Silurian  limestones  are 


2  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

presented  in  thin,  fragile  strata,  with  variable  layers  of 
shale  between;  and  in  these  it  would  be  almost  impos- 
sible for  even  small  grottoes  to  grow.  But  when  this 
terrane  meets  the  Upper  Silurian,  as  at  ^ladison,  Indi- 
ana, the  massive  upper  ledges  resist  decomposition, 
while  the  underlying  softer  strata  are  easily  eroded; 
and  the  result  is  seen  in  some  of  the  most  picturesque 
grottoes  in  the  world.  Rising  in  the  geological  horizon 
while  descending  the  valley,  we  enter  the  most  exten- 
sive cave  region  on  the  globe.  The  Ohio  River  tran- 
sects this  territory  in  such  a  manner  that  three  fourths 
of  it  lies  in  Kentucky,  while  the  remaining  fourth  is 
divided  between  Indiana  and  Tennessee.  In  Indiana  is 
the  wonderful  Wyandot  Cave,  and  in  Tennessee  the 
formidable  Nicajack;  which  are  worthy  rivals  of  Ken- 
tucky's greatest  cavern. 

The  main  line  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad 
runs  through  the  region  in  which  ^Mammoth  Cave  is 
located.  And  as  we  ride  swiftly  and  comfortably  along 
we  can  observe  from  the  cars  the  more  conspicuous  re- 
sults of  the  complex  erosive  process  by  which  the 
landscape  has  been  wTOught  into  its  present  features. 

Imagine  a  vast  plain,  which  in  its  entirety  covers 
quite  eight  thousand  square  miles,  and  that  plain,  during 
successive  ages,  slowly  and  gently  uplifted,  as  a  whole, 
by  geological  agencies.  Extensive  erosion  necessarily 
would  ensue.  For,  previous  to  this  uplifting,  this  part 
of  the  continent  was  submerged;  but  since  the  Carbon- 
iferous period  the  region  has  been  dry  land.  Unlike 
the  areas  to  the  remote  West  and  South,  there  are  here 
no  Cretaceous  nor  Tertiary  rocks.  The  hills  are  all 
Carl)oniferous;  though  in  many  places,  as  in  the  vicinity 
of  Louisville,  these  eminences  have  been  worn  away,  and 


THE  CAVERN  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY.  3 

the  underlying  Devonian  and  Silurian  now  form  the 
country  roek. 

Meanwhile  the  falling  rains  have  run  over  the  slight- 
ly tilted  limestone  rocks,  wearing  their  surface  into  fur- 
rows and  undermining  the  harder  ledges.  Additional 
to  this  mechanical  agency  chemical  forces  have  been  at 
work.  From  the  air  and  the  soil  the  rain-water  gathers 
into  itself  carbonic  acid  (carbon  dioxide)  which  attacks 
the  limestone,  dissolves  it  slowly  or  rapidly,  as  the  ease 
may  be;  after  which  the  water  runs  away  with  its 
mineral  burden.  The  region  once  level  now  becomes 
undulating;  the  surface  waters  find,  or  make,  under- 
ground channels,  and  finally  the  region  is  honey-coml)ed 
with  caverns.  Where  less  soluble  rocks  occur,  or  form 
the  surface,  the  process  of  erosion  is  less  rapid.  Hills 
are  thus  formed,  their  very  tops  refusing  to  yield  to 
solution.  The  environs  ])ecome  lower,  and  finally  coni- 
cal masses  remain,  testifying  by  their  geologic  structure 
to  the  processes  that  have  l)eeu  at  work. 

The  problem  is  complicated,  so  far  as  the  region 
around  the  ]\Iammotli  Cave  is  concerned,  by  the  fact 
that  the  compact  Chester  Sandstone  overlies  the  St. 
Louis  Limestone,  which  is  here  largely  oolitic.  The 
sandstone  yields  slowly  to  the  mechanical  action  of  the 
running  water,  l)ut  resists  its  chemical  action;  wiiiK.' 
the  limestone  yields  to  both  these  agencies.  It  tluis 
happens  that  there  are  visibh;  thousands  of  "knobs" 
and  myriads  of  "sink-Iioles. "  Knobs  are  eminences, 
sometimes  several  hundred  feet  high,  and  frequently 
perfect  pyramids,  left  by  tlie  erosion  of  tlie  weaker 
rocks,  the  original  strata  being  diminished  lioi-i/oiit;ill\-. 
l)ut  undisturbed  in  position,  even  to  the  ajx'X  of  the 
pyramidal    p(>ak.      'fhe    siiik-hoh's,    on    the    othci-    hand, 


i  MAiniOTII    CAVE. 

are  usually  oval  depressions,  of  every  conceivable  size 
and  of  variant  depths,  without  inlet  or  outlet,  except 
through  funnels  which  communicate  with  subterranean 
passages.  These  pits  were,  in  former  times,  and  some- 
times still  are,  natural  animal-traps,  into  which  has 
fallen  many  a  wild  denizen  of  the  forest.  In  order  to 
save  domestic  animals  from  a  similar  catastrophe 
numerous  sink-holes  have  been  artificially  plugged,  thus 
transforming  them  into  deep  pools.  So  extensive  has 
been  the  undermining  by  the  process  now  described, 
that  one  ma.y  travel  on  horsel)ack  all  day,  through  cer- 
tain i)arts  of  Kentucky,  without  crossing  a  single  run- 
ning surface  stream;  all  the  rain-water  that  falls  being 
carried  down  through  the  sink-holes  into  caverns  below, 
where  are  the  gathering-beds  that  feed  the  few  large 
open  streams  of  the  region,  of  wliieh  tlie  Green  River  is 
an  example. 

It  is  reported  that  there  are  four  thousand  sink-holes 
and  five  hundred  known  caverns  in  Edmonson  County 
alone.  The  ]\Iammotli  Cave  Railway,  that  leads  from 
Glasgow  Junction  directly  to  the  cave,  passes  a  number 
of  them.  The  largest  sink-hole  known  is  the  Eden 
Valley,  along  whose  margin  the  road  runs.  This  charm- 
ing valley  is  adorned  by  fertile  farms,  and  occasional 
ponds  that  mirror  the  passing  clouds,  and  it  is  flanked 
by  the  virgin  forest;  but  after  all  it  is  a  true  sink-hole, 
without  inlet  or  outlet.  Its  area  is  certainly  not  less 
than  two  thousand  acres,  and  this  enormous  depression 
must  have  l)een  made  by  the  falling  in  of  a  series  of 
great  caverns. 

The  reader  will  not  expect  us  in  this  ^Manual,  which 
is  meant  to  describe  a  single  famous  cavern,  to  offer  a 
catalogue   of  the   other   known   caverns   of   the   county. 


THE  CAVERN   REGION  OF   KENTUCKY.  5 

Some  of  these,  like  tlu^  Diamond,  the  Grand  Crystal, 
Proctor's,  and  the  recenth^  opened  Colossal  Cavern, 
have  gained  more  than  a  local  celelirity.  Another  large 
cavern,  the  Salt  Cave,  belongs  to  the  ^Mannnoth  Cave 
estate,  and  has  interest  for  scientific  men  on  account  of 
its  prehistoric  relics.  It  is  now  very  difficult  of  access; 
and  being  absolutely  dry,  the  explorer  needs  to  carry 
his  own  water  supply.    Hence  it  is  rarely  visited. 

The  White  Cave  belongs  to  the  same  estate,  and  is 
well  worth  visiting.  It  gets  its  name  from  the  brilliant 
whiteness  of  its  stalactitic  formations.  It  is  really  a 
branch  of  the  jMammoth  C'ave,  being  connected  with  it 
by  a  passage,  now  occluded,  leading  to  Klett's  Dome 
and  the  Mammoth  Dome,  of  which  the  former  is  a  por- 
tion, separated  therefrom  by  the  thin  floor  at  the  end 
of  Little  Bat  Avenue,  through  which  Crevice  Pit  leads 
— connecting  thus  the  two  domes  that  are  practically  and 
geologically  identical. 

The  entrance  to  the  White  Cave  is  guarded  l)y  an 
iron  gate,  beyond  which  is  an  oval  chamber,  irregiihir  in 
outline,  beneath  whose  low,  flat  roof  we  proceed  to  the 
second  chamber.  Here  is  exhibited  a  splen:lid  piece  of 
stalactitic  drapery,  called  the  Frozen  Cascade.  It  is 
fretted  and  folded  in  a  thousand  fantastic  forms,  and 
well  deserves  its  name.  The  resemblance  of  this  mass 
of  onyx  to  the  gigantic  cohnuns  formed  in  winter  around 
great  waterfalls,  such  as  Niagara,  is  indeed  striking. 
The  roof  is  covered  with  pendants,  from  the  largest 
stalactites  down  to  those  as  small  as  a  quill ;  each  one 
of  Avhich  is  hollow,  and  from  whose  tips  hang  tremiHous 
drops  of  water  sparkling  like  diamonds.  The  ilooi-  is 
intersected    with    shallow,    crooked    channels,    in    which 


6  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

run  transparent  rills.  A  stately  shaft,  named  Iluni- 
Ijoklt  's  (,'oliunn,  appears  to  support  the  low  arch. 

In  tht>  third  chamber  are  huge  blocks  of  limestone 
cemented  together  and  encumbering  the  floor.  And 
around  all  is  kindly  drawn  a  wide  veil  «  /  the  purest  ala- 
baster. Attempts  have  been  made  to  break  through 
this  mighty  curtain,  with  the  hope  of  finding  a  passage 
into  the  3Iammotli  Cave.  With  the  same  wish  cer- 
tain deep  pits  in  the  vicinity  have  been  thoroughly 
explored,  but  thus  far  in  vain. 

Some  ninety  years  ago  Mr.  J.  D.  Clifford,  a  Ken- 
tuckian,  exhumed  from  the  floor  of  the  AVliite  Cave 
certain  bones,  that,  after  passing  through  several  hands, 
finally  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences,  at  Philadelphia.  It  has  been  stated 
that  among  them  were  the  remains  of  bisons,  stags,  a 
bear,  a  megalonyx,  and  also  a  human  skeleton.  This 
remarkable  statement  is  open  to  serious  question,  be- 
yond the  megalonyx  ])oues ;  and  it  is  mentioned  here 
merely  because  some  degree  of  paleontologic  impor- 
tance has  been  attached  to  the  story.* 

Dixon's  Cave,  also  belonging  to  the  same  estate,  is 
supposed  to  have  been,  at  some  remote  prehistoric 
time,  the  original  mouth  of  the  ]\Iammotli  Cave. 
However  this  may  be,  the  cave  is  well  worth  visiting 
for  its  own  sake.  Its  mouth  is  a  yawning  gulf,  some- 
what larger  than  that  by  which  one  enters  Alammotli 
Cave.    In  its  present  condition  it  is  obstructed  by  fallen 


"-■'See  a  reference  to  the  Megalonyx  of  the  White  Cave,  Kentucky,  by  Doctor 
Richard  Harlan,  American  Journal  of  Geology,  Vol.  i,  page  76;  and  a  more  full 
account  of  the  same  on  page  171,  by  Professor  William  Cooper,  who  distin- 
guishes it  from  the  specimen  found  at  Big-Bone  Lick,  Kentucky,  and  in  the 
Big-Bone  Cave,  in  White  County,  Tennessee.  See  also  Transactions  of  the 
Geological  Society  of  I'ennsylvania,  August,  1S84,  pp.  67-70  and  pp.  144-146. — 
— H.  C.  H. 


THE  CAVERN  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY.  7 

forest  trees,  over  or  iiudcr  whose  trunks  and  sprawlinj^ 
branches  Ave  must  climb  or  creep.  We  are  rewarded 
by  finding  ourselves  in  the  mightiest  subterranean  hall 
yet  discovered.  The  cavern  is  a  single  immense  tem- 
ple with  one  eternal  arch  of  limestone.  By  our  meas- 
urement it  is  fifteen  hundred  feet  long,  from  sixty  to 
eighty  feet  wide,  and  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  high.  It  gradually  curves  from  south- 
east to  due  south;  and  the  dimensions  are  quite 
uniform  throughout.  The  roof  is  decorated  here  and 
there  by  numerous  stalactites,  none  of  them  very  large; 
and  other  parts  of  it  are  blackened  by  myriads  of  bats, 
especially  in  winter,  clinging  together  like  swarms  of 
bees.  Every  foot  of  the  floor  was  searched  and  over- 
turned long  ago  by  the  industrious  miners,  who  carried 
the  niter-bearing  earth  outside  to  the  vats  and  boiling- 
tubs  whose  ruins  are  yet  visible.  The  miners  left  the 
rocky  fragments  within  the  cavern  piled  in  what  might 
be  described  as  transverse  stony  billows,  of  which  we 
counted  eighteen;  each  wave  being  forty  feet  through 
at  the  base,  and  rising  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the 
true  floor.  At  the  extreme  end  the  mass  of  earth  and 
rock  does  not  seem  to  have  been  disturbea.  Over  this 
we  can  climb  to  the  very  roof,  amid  whose  nooks  we 
sought  in  vain  for  access  to  ^Mammoth  Cave.  Doubt- 
less by  suitable  excavation  the  desired  connection  might 
be  made.  Igniting  a  series  of  Bengal  lights  siuuiltane- 
ously,  we  were  able  to  take  in  at  a  glance  the  dimen- 
sions of  this  enormous  hall  of  Titanic  inngnifude. 

Green  River  is  the  only  openly  running  stream  in 
the  immediate  region,  and  its  wafers  are  wholly  fed 
from  subterranean  reservoirs.  Its  bluff's  are  gashed 
here  and  there  by  rifts,  or  wide  arches,  from  some  of 


S  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

which  issue  streams  that  serve  as  modes  of  exit  for 
underground  waters.  Were  it  practicable  to  enter 
them,  we  might  climb  through  a  series  of  rocky  galler- 
ies, till  at  last  we  emerged  in  some  one  of  those  oval 
valleys  already  described  as  sink-holes.  The  usual 
mode  of  entrance  to  caverns,  however,  is  at  some  place 
where  the  roof  has  Ijroken  through,  and  whose  rocky 
fragments,  i)artly  filling  the  subterranean  dome,  serve 
as  convenient  stepping-stones  down  into  darkness. 

Such  a  break  is  the  present  entrance  to  the  Mam- 
moth Cave.  It  is  one  hundred  and  eighteen  feet  below 
the  crest  of  the  bluff,  one  hundred  and  ninety-four 
feet  above  the  level  of  Green  River,  and  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The 
limestone  l)ed  measure;;  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  feet  in  thickness,  from  its  upper  limit,  where  it  is 
in  contact  with  the  sandstone,  down  to  the  drainage 
level  of  the  cave,  and  doulUless  extends  below^  many 
feet  further.  The  sandstone,  which  is  Subearbonifer- 
ous,  with  occasional  layers  of  conglomerate,  rises  at  the 
surface  in  irregular  elevations.  This  geological  fact 
accounts  for  the  vast  area  of  the  cavern,  and  also  for  the 
paucity  of  its  stalactitic  decoration  compared  with  other 
caverns;  as  for  instance  with  the  adjacent  White  Cave, 
from  above  which  the  sandstone  has  been  entirely  strip- 
ped away. 

The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  and  also  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  this 
country,  took  much  interest  a  few  years  ago  in  a  series 
of  observations  for  determining  the  mean  temperature  of 
the  crust  of  the  earth.  They  justly  reasoned  that  by 
ascertaining  the  temperature  of  the  immense  and  nearly 
stationary    bodv    of    air    confined    in    Mammoth    Cave 


THE  CAVERN  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY.  9 

they  would  approximate  to  the  temperature  of  the 
crust  of  the  earth  for  the  same  latitude.  Accordingly 
they  requested  the  senior  author  of  this  ^lauiial  to 
make  a  series  of  observations,  which  he  did  witli  the 
utmost  care  in  1881,  not  only  here  but  in  other  caverns, 
using  for  the  purpose  verified  thermometers  furnished 
to  him  expressly  by  the  Kew  and  the  Winchester  Ob- 
servatories. The  final  result  of  more  than  a  hundred 
experiments  was  that  the  mean  temperature  of  ^Mam- 
moth  Cave,  and  of  other  caverns  in  the  same  latitude,  is 
about  fifty-four  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  extremes  of 
external  cold  or  heat  may  have  to  l)e  allowed  for.  Every 
summer  visitor  notices  the  strong  current  of  air  flowing 
out  from  the  mouth  of  ]\Iammoth  Cave,  and  that  at 
times  amounts  to  a  gale  preventing  our  carrying  lighted 
lamps  into  the  entrance.  The  cool  air  wells  up  like  an 
invisible  fountain,  and  flows  down  like  a  stream  toward 
Green  River.  Into  this  aerial  stream  wo  step,  wc  wade 
knee-deep,  we  are  finally  iniinci'sed  as  we  enter  the  great 
cavern. 

But  let  us  pause  for  a  few  moments  longer,  iu  order 
to  consider  the  natural  history  of  this  vast  excavation. 
First  or  last  every  intelligent  visitor  is  sure  to  ask, 
"How  did  it  all  come  about!  What  was  the  process  of 
cave-making?"  These  excusable  in(|uiries  miglit  as  well 
be  met  at  the  outset,  although  in  doing  so  we  shall  have 
to  anticipate  to  some  degree  the  i)lienomena  to  be  brought 
to  notice  later  on. 

As  already  remarked,  the  entrance  to  the  cave  is  at 
a  place  where  the  roof  has  broken  through.  The  term 
"tumble-down"  is  used  regarding  such  localities  inside 
the  cavern.  There  are  many  of  them;  particularly  at 
the  end  of  Rafinesque  ITall,  at  the  end  of  Grat/  Avenue, 


10  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

at  Sandstone  Doino,  in  Violet  City,  and  in  a  sliort  hall 
at  tlic  left  of  the  Cataracts.  All  these  tumble-downs  are 
w  iicre  the  overlying  sandstone  strata  and  the  underlying 
strata  of  thin  limestone  have  been  worn  away,  leaving 
the  weakened  roof  to  fall  in,  carrying  along  rocky 
fragments,  and  also  a  mass  of  clay  and  soil,  whereby 
the  passage-ways  are  occluded.  Besides  blocking  up  the 
galleries  where  they  occur,  they  also  betray  the  fact  that 
the  surface  can  not  be  far  away. 

One  of  the  most  curious  and  instructive  of  these 
roof -breaks  is  just  to  the  left  of  the  Cataracts,  where 
what  is  known  as  the  ]\[ain  Cave  abruptly  terminates  by 
a  crushing  down  of  the  superineuml)ent  strata  singu- 
larly bent  and  folded  in  a  direction  the  reverse  of  the 
main  arch.  Doctor  Call,  who  first  attracted  attention  to 
this  mimic  syncline,  regards  it  as  due  to  slight  orographic 
movements  by  which  the  rocks  were  cracked  and  fissured 
till  the  thin  limestone  plates  were  bent  by  the  great 
weight  of  the  sandstone  strata  overhead. 

Above  the  Cataracts  is  a  sink  now  determining  the 
flow  of  the  waters  that  enter  from  the  surface  at  some 
distance  from  the  crushed  limestone  reversed  arch,  or 
synclinal,  which  are  worn  away  from  it  to  the  right,  thus 
steadily,  though  slowly,  excavating  a  tunnel  that  will 
ultimately  become  a  narrow  avenue  under  the  surround- 
ing rocks. 

Pits  and  domes  play  their  part  in  cave-making. 
Dawkins  and  Shaler  regard  them  as  tubes  cut  down  by 
whirling  water  using  sand  and  pebbles  as  teeth  for  cut- 
ting through  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  level.  We 
are  convinced  that  this  theory  is  untenable.  "Were  it 
correct  the  pits  should  be  wider  at  the  top  than  at  the 
bottom.    ]iut,  with  rare  exceptions,  as  for  instance  in  the 


THE  CAVERN  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY.  U 

Edna  Dome,  it  is  otherwise.  As  a  rule,  a  small  crevice, 
four  or  five  feet  wide,  expands  into  a  pit  that  may  be 
several  hundred  feet  wide.  In  cave  terms  this  is  a  "pit" 
if  seen  from  above,  and  a  "dome"  if  seen  from  below. 
In  many  such  shafts  there  is  water ;  but  it  flows  along  the 
floor  or  trickles  down  the  sides,  with  not  a  sign  of  its 
having  ever  been  "whirled  about  with  pebbles  for 
teeth,"  as  asserted  by  Shaler.  The  grooving  is  invari- 
ably vertical,  with  no  marks  of  drilling  or  grinding. 
Doctor  Call  and  I  examined  many  small  domes  that  were 
formed  on  exactly  the  same  i)lan  as  the  larger  ones ;  and 
in  every  instance  their  apex  was  solid,  except  for  a  tiny 
crevice  through  which  the  water  gently  flowed.  In 
most  of  them  not  a  pebble  or  grain  of  sand  was  visible. 

We  were  impressed  by  the  evidences  of  solution 
greeting  us  on  every  hand.  Not  only  amid  tlie  pits 
and  domes,  but  in  the  arid  avenues  and  tortuous  chan- 
nels, signs  of  aqueous  erosion  abounded.  The  solvent 
agency  of  water  was  evinced  by  the  Pigeon-lioles,  the 
]\Iummy's  Niche,  the  Fat  Man's  ^Misery,  as  well  as  by  the 
rounded  and  worn  bosses,  and  the  smoothed  wails  and 
curves  of  the  spacious  halls. 

With  such  signs  in  sight  the  genesis  of  ^Mammoth 
Cave  is  quite  simple  and  easy  of  explanation.  It  is  with- 
in the  St.  Louis  Limestone  and  underneath  the  Cliester 
Sandstone;  l)oth  being  members  of  the  Sulx-arboiiiferous 
period.  ]>etween  these  formations  is  ol'ten  found  a 
layer  of  conglomerate,  whence  come  the  silicious  pebbles 
often  found  on  tlie  floor  of  the  cavern  Here  and  there, 
as  in  the  bed  of  Mystic  Kiver,  appear  masses  of  chert  or 
flintlike  rock.  The  ele\ation  from  flie  low-water  level  of 
Green  River  to  the  sandstone  oufei'oi)  in  llie  l)luff  is 
about  three  ]nin(lre(l   and   Iweiitv-five   feet;    fi'om   wliich 


12  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Ave  infer  that  the  lowest  level  of  the  eaveru  is  that 
distance  from  tlic  siqx'rineiuubent  sandstone.  We  have 
not  found  any  hall  or  dome  that  measured  more  than 
one  luuulred  and  sixty  feet,  and  doubt  if  any  exists  as 
hiiih  as  two  hundred  feet.  The  tendency  has  been  to 
exaggerate  cave  heights  as  well  as  cave  distances. 

Existing  avenues  began  with  small  fissures  where 
the  rock  had  been  fractured,  and  the  gently  flowing  or 
wildly  rushing  waters  have  wrought  the  narrow  or 
broader  passage-ways.  Everywhere  are  signs  of  erosion 
and  solution.  We  doubt  if  the  ancient  streams  in  the 
cavern  were  ever  larger  than  they  are  now  at  high 
water.  Some  of  the  so-called  sand-beds  are  in  reality 
only  the  result  of  disintegration  of  oolitic  limestone. 
On  the  other  hand  the  true  sand  when  found  is  as 
sharp  as  when  it  fell  from  the  sandstone  capping  the 
limestone  overhead.  Trickling  and  evaporating  lime- 
water  explains  the  forming  of  stalactites  and  stalagmites ; 
while  the  crystals  of  gypsum,  ealcite,  and  various  salts, 
all  tell  their  story  of  subterranean  chemistry.  "In 
brief,"  as  Doctor  Call  remarks,  "the  visitor  is  to  look  at 
the  great  work  of  excavation  of  the  ^Mammoth  Cave  as 
solely  a  problem  in  solution."  The  limestone  is  usually 
soft  enough  to  be  scratched  by  a  knife,  and  in  certain 
places  it  readily  disintegrates,  its  egglike  particles  being 
separated  by  the  solvent  action  of  the  water;  and  as 
already  observed  some  of  the  avenues  have  a  floor  en- 
tirely made  up  of  fine  oolitic  sand. 

At  the  end  of  Darnall's  Way  where  it  opens  upon 
the  summit  of  Gorin's  Dome,  masses  of  limestone  that 
seemed  solid  and  firm  yielded  like  putty  under  the 
hand,  or  crumbled  at  a  touch.  This  was  indeed  such 
an  element  of  danger  that  "Sir.  Ganter  had  his  men  go 


THE  CAVERX  REGION  OF  KENTUCKY.  13 

with  .sledge-lianiiner.s  and  erow  bars  and  l)reak  down  or 
pry  off  the  jutting  edges  till  rock  was  reached  sufficiently 
solid  to  support  the  timbers  of  the  bridge  he  had  them 
build  across  the  chasm. 

It  has  been  customary  to  explain  the  great  fallen 
masses,  like  the  Standing  Rocks,  the  Giant's  Coffin,  the 
Whale,  and  the  huge  blocks  visible  in  the  Corkscrew, 
and  elsewhere,  as  caused  by  earthquakes.  Of  course  it 
is  possible,  though  we  find  few  signs  of  seismic  action 
anywhere.  It  is  more  probal)le  that  these  masses  fell 
by  their  own  weight  after  having  been  loosened  l)y  solu- 
tion along  the  joints  caused  by  early  continental  up- 
lifting. 

The  subterranean  rivers,  after  all,  are  tlu'  great  cave- 
makers.  One  who  sees  them  at  their  lowest  stage  in 
sunuuer  and  floats  over  them  at  his  leisure,  anuising 
himself  by  their  echoes,  can  have  no  idea  of  their 
tremendous  volume  and  force  in  winter  or  early  spring. 
There  are  times  when  the  Dead  Sea,  Styx,  Lake  Lethe, 
Echo  River  and  the  Roaring  River  combine  into  a 
swollen  stream  fully  two  miles  long,  and  how  m\u-h 
further  into  inaccessible  depths  nobody  knows,  and  with 
a  maximum  depth  of  one  hundred  feet.  ]\Ioreover  this 
flood  has  a  strong  current  making  navigation  dangerous. 
Rising,  falling,  sweeping  under  overhanging  ledges,  these 
waters  hollow  out  long  horizontal  passage-ways,  sway  to 
and  fro  like  liquid  battering-rams,  hanuner  down  weak 
walls,  and  undermine  arches,  thus  making,  dui'ing  many 
ages,  those  successive  tiers,  or  galleries,  for  which  the  cave 
is  noted.  Thus  the  uKH'hanical  force  and  action  of  run- 
ning water  must  be  reckoned  into  the  account,  as  well  as 
the  more  silent  energy  of  simple  solution.  As  the  process 
goes  on,  the  cave  cuts  down  from  high  levels  to  lower 


14  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

ones,  thus  leavin.u'  tlic  iii)per  galleries  dry  as  tinder,  of 
which  (iothic  Avenue  is  a  consi)icuous  example. 

On  the  other  hand  a  filling-np  process  also  goes  on. 
Standing  Avater  deposits  nitrous  earth  and  various 
mineral  suhstances.  Water  trickling  from  crevices  in 
the  roof  slowly  evaporates,  thus  creating  stalactites  and 
stalagmites,  hy  which  the  passages  are  finally  occluded, 
as  is  the  case  Avith  the  avenue  heyond  Olive's  Bower. 
But  it  Avill  take  countless  ages  to  ohliterate  the  immense 
cavity  from  whose  ramifications  it  is  estimated  that 
millions  of  cubic  yards  of  limestone  have  been  removed 
hy  the  chemical  and  mechanical  action  of  the  waters  that 
drip,  trickle,  flow  or  rush  through  the  multiplied  open- 
ings of  this  subterranean  realm  whicli  we  are  about  to 
explore. 

Note. — A  word  further  as  to  air  currents,  which  are  some- 
times quite  violent.  The  theory  that  the  air  rushes  into  the 
cave  in  winter  and  out  in  summer  must  now  be  modified.  Mr. 
A.  M.  Banta  made  observations  with  an  anemometer  in  the 
winter  of  1903,  and  says,  "  The  air  currents  were  surprisingly 
fitful."  The  air  would  run  in  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  flow 
out  again.  He  recorded  the  inward  rates  per  hour  in  February 
as  varying  from  50,556  feet  to  77,396  feet.  Eigenmann,  who 
made  observations  in  November,  reports  the  ingoing  rates  as 
varying  from  7,800  feet  per  hour  to  a  maximum  of  55,830  feet. 
Again  he  says:  "  I  have  been  at  the  entrance  to  Mammoth  Cave 
when  the  internal  and  external  pressures  were  so  equalised  that 
the  anemometer  would  show  ingoing  and  outgoing  currents 
alternating  irregularly  every' few  minutes."  I  find  no  record  of 
the  force  of  outgoing  currents  in  summer.  Very  decided  air  cur- 
rents were  observed  by  me  in  Gorin's  Dome  and  the  Mammoth 
Dome,  seeming  to  prove  an  outside  opening. — H.  C.  H. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  ENVIRONMENT 


AS  many  as  twenty-eight  limestone  caverns  were 
known  in  Kentucky  by  the  year.  1800,  beside 
many  "rock-houses."  From  these  a  certain 
]Mr.  Fowler  is  said  to  have  obtained  "one  hundred 
thousand  pounds  of  niter."  It  is  stated,  in  the  early 
accounts  of  these  localities,  that  solid  masses  of  salt- 
peter were  found  "weighing  from  one  hundred  to 
sixteen  hundred  pounds."  Byrem  Lawrence,  in  his 
Geology  of  the  Western  States,  published  in  18-13, 
corrects  a  popular  error  by  saying  of  these  deposits: 
"False  saltpeter  is  found  in  many  caves,  particularly 
in  the  ^Mammoth  Cave.  It  is  but  a  nitrate  of  lime, 
and  has  to  be  changed  to  tlie  nitrate  of  potash  by 
leaching  it  through  wood  ashes."  Doctor  Samuel 
Brown,  of  Lexington,  made  a  journey  of  a  thousand 
miles  on  horseback,  in  the  year  180(5,  in  order  to  lay 
before  the  American  Philosophical  Society  at  Phila- 
delphia the  facts  concerning  these  resources,  which,  he 
declared,  would  he  especially  precious  in  case  of  warfare 
with  any  foreign  power.  lie  enters  into  details  as  to  Ihe 
manufacture  of  saltpeter,  but  does  not  mention  Mam- 
moth Cave.  The  records  at  Bowling  Green  designate 
tliat  cave  as  a  corner  of  a  section  of  land  in  17i)7 ;  wbiclv 
antedates  the  statement  by  Bayard  Taylor  tliat  it  was 
found  in  1802,  and  of  Frank  (Jorin  that  it  was  first 
entered  ])y  Ilouchiiis  in  ISO!).  The  fact  that  it  was  i-ich 
in  nitrous  earth  led  to  its  i)urciiase  l)y  a  Mr.  ]\IcLean, 
in  1811,  who  ])Ouglit  the  cave  and  two  lumdred  acres  of 


16  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

land  about  its  mouth,  paying  for  it  the  sum  of  forty 
dollars.  ^IcLean  soon  sold  it  to  ^Ir.  Gatewood,  who,  in 
turn,  sold  it  to  jMessrs.  Gratz  and  Wilkins,  whose  agent, 
Mr.  Archibald  ^Miller,  made  a  fortune  for  them  from  it 
during  the  War  of  1812.  The  remains  of  their  saltpeter 
works  are  still  to  be  seen  at  certain  places  within  the 
cave. 

Rebecca  Gratz,  daughter  of  the  senior  member  of 
this  firm,  was  a  beautiful  Jewess,  and  a  friend  of  Wash- 
ington Irving,  who  related  her  romantic  story  to  Sir 
Walter  fSeott  in  1817.  Shortly  afterward  "Ivanhoe" 
appeared,  in  1819.  Scott  sent  a  first  copy  to  Irving, 
asking,  ''IIow  do  you  like  your  'Rebecca'!  Does  the 
Rebecca  I  have  pictured  [in  Ivanhoe]  compare  well 
with  the  pattern  given  by  you?"  Miss  Gratz  was  born 
in  1781  and  died  in  1869,  at  Philadelphia. 

A  few  words  are  in  place  regarding  the  early  crude 
manufacture  of  one  of  the  essential  ingredients  of  gun- 
powder. The  "miners"  were  mainly  negroes,  who 
gathered  the  "peter-dirt,"  as  it  was  familiarly  called, 
using  ox-carts  for  bringing  it  from  the  more  accessible 
avenues,  and  carrying  it  in  sacks  from  remoter  rooms. 
The  soil  was  leached  in  vats  within  the  cave;  whence 
the  solution  was  pumped  out  to  open-air  boilers.  The 
concentrated  liquor  was  next  run  through  hoppers  filled 
with  wood  ashes,  boiled  a  second  time,  and  cooled  in 
wooden  troughs.  Then  the  crystals  of  potassium  nitrate 
which  formed  were  taken  out  and  packed  for  transpor- 
tation by  the  most  primitive  methods  to  the  seaboard. 
The  yield  was,  on  an  average,  about  four  pounds  of 
the  calcium  nitrate  to  the  bushel  of  "peter-dirt,"  and 
Mr.  ]\riller  reported  to  his  employers  that,  from  the 
IVrammoth   Cave   alone,   they   could   "supi)ly   the    whole 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    AND   EXVIROXMEXT.  17 

population  of  the  globe  with  saltpeter."  Emphasis 
sliould  be  laid  on  the  faet,  not  mentioned  in  any  history 
of  the  United  States,  that  our  AVar  with  Great  Britain, 
in  1812,  would  have  ended  in  failure  on  our  sid(^  had  it 
not  been  for  the  resources  so  abundantly  furnishetl  by 
American  caverns  for  the  home  manufacture  of  salt- 
peter at  a  time  when  by  a  general  embargo  we  were 
wholly  cut  olf  from  foreign  sources  of  supply. 

Gratz  and  Wilkins,  in  1816,  disposed  of  the  cave, 
together  with  about  sixteen  hundred  acres  of  land,  to 
Air.  James  Aloore,  a  Philadelphia  merchant,  who  was 
ruined,  it  is  averred,  liy  his  complications  with  Burr  and 
Blennerhassctt.  Thereupon  the  property  passed  once 
more,  for  a  time,  into  the  hands  of  Air.  Gatewood,  who 
made  it  a  place  of  exhibition  to  the  public. 

In  1887  the  estate  was  purchased  by  Air.  Frank 
Gorin,  who  employed  Aloore  and  Aliller  as  his  agents, 
and  Stephen  I^ishop  and  Alatt  Bransford  as  guides. 
Then  b(gan  tlie  era  of  discoveries.  Explorations  were 
pushed  to  such  a  degree  that  the  wonders  of  tiie  cave 
attracted  attention,  not  only  throughout  America,  but 
also  in  Europ(\  Among  the  immediate  causes  for  such 
active  exploration  was  tlie  fact  that  Air.  C.  F.  Harvey, 
Air.  Gorin 's  nephew,  was  lost  in  the  cave  for  thirty-nine 
hours.  And  among  the  I'csults  was  tlu'  fact  tliat  Doctor 
John  Croghan,  a  young  pliysician  of  Louis\illc,  was 
repeatedly  asked,  dui-ing  his  travels  abroad,  about  the 
marvels  of  Alammotli  Cave.  It  inoi'tified  him  1o  own 
that  he  could  give  no  information.  Accordingly,  on  his 
return,  he  visited  the  locality,  and  was  so  charmed  with 
it  that  he  l)OUght  it  of  Air.  Gorin.  on  October  S,  1889, 
for  -i^lOjOOO,  and  expended  large  sums  in  ils  develop- 
ment.    At  his  death,  in  1845,  he  devised  the  estate  to 


18  MAMMOTH    CA\^. 

his  eleven  nephews  and  nieces,  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Colonel  George  Croghan,  Mr.  William  Croghan,  and 
General  T.  S.  Jessup ;  of  these  only  three  now  survive. 
At  their  decease  the  property,  which  includes  some  two 
thousand  acres,  must  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  divided 
equally  among  the  heirs  of  the  legatees.* 

Among  the  agents  who  have  exhibited  the  cave  may 
be  mentioned  IMessrs.  Archibald,  James  and  William 
iMiller,  L.  J.  Proctor,  W.  Owsley,  D.  L.  Graves,  Francis 
Klett,  W.  C.  Comstock,  H.  C.  Ganter,  and  L.  F.  Charlet. 
Of  the  guides,  Stephen  Bishop  and  ]\Iatt  Bransford  merit 
special  distinction.  Though  slaves  they  became  learned 
in  their  line  of  research,  and  won  world-wide  celebrity 
for  scientific  knowledge  of  subterranean  matters.  Both 
are  now  dead;  as  is  also  Nicholas  Bransford,  the  brother 
of  ]Matt,  and  William  Garvin.  The  list  of  recent  guides 
includes  William  I)ransford,  Edward  Bishop,  Edward 
Hawkins,  Joshua  AVilson,  Robert  Lively,  and  John 
Nelson.  Others,  both  white  men  and  negroes,  are  at 
hand  for  emergencies.  None  but  responsi])Ie  guides  are 
employed,  and  visitors  are  recpiircd  to  respect  their 
authority. 

A  short  walk  from  the  railway  train  brings  us  to  the 
IMammoth  Cave  Hotel,  which  is  an  interesting  case  of 
evolution  from  a  log  cabin.  The  original  cabin  still 
stands,  just  as  it  did  in  the  days  of  the  saltpeter  miners, 
only  being  noW'  weather-boarded  the  logs  are  hidden 
from  observation.  Other  cabins  were  added,  at  a  later 
day,  standing  in  a  long  row ;  and  a  central  cabin  was 
built,  with  a  wide  hall  between  two  parlors.  In  process 
of  time  all  these  isolated  cabins  were  joined  together  as 


*A  bill  for  the  expropriation  of  the  estate  as  a  national  park  was  intro- 
duced iu  U.  S.  Congress  by  Hon.  R.  Y.  Thomas,  M.  C,  January  17,  1911. 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    -VXD    ENVIRON M EXT.  19 

one  structure,  with  wide  verandas  and  six  hundred 
feet  of  covered  portico.  A  spacious  frame  house  was 
erected  in  front,  with  offices,  dining-hall,  assembly- 
room,  and  other  conveniences.  The  tall,  white  pillars  of 
the  long  colonnade,  between  which  one  looks  out  on  a 
grove  of  oaks  and  cedars,  the  ample  lawn,  the  exten- 
sive garden,  together  with  the  rustic  surroundings, 
make  the  place  a  delightful  resort  for  those  who  do  not 
demand  too  many  city  privileges  in  the  heart  of  a  prim- 
itive forest. 

The  natural  beauty  of  the  pathway  from  the  hotel  to 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern  always  awakens  the  interest  of 
every  nature-loving  visitor;  whether  it  be  traversed  in 
the  dewy  morning,  at  sultry  noon,  or  by  fascinating 
moonlight.  The  rough  pathway  is  sufficiently  smoothed 
to  permit  us  to  notice  our  surroundings.  Tall  syca- 
mores, chestnuts,  poplars — the  tulip  tree  of  the  region 
— gnarled  and  knotted  oaks  festooned  with  giant  vines, 
clumps  of  pawpaw,  or  of  spice-wood,  with  occasional 
groups  of  the  Judas-tree,  and  an  undergrowth  of  siiuiller 
bushes,  moss-beds  and  fairy-like  ferns,  amid  which  are 
sprinkled  myriads  of  brilliant  fungi,  conspii-t'  to  make  a 
landscape  of  singular  beauty  and  botanical  richness. 
However  gay  and  merry  the  party  may  be,  the  fresh- 
ness and  loveliness  ot  the  pathway  always  excite  atten- 
tion and  become  a  suljject  of  conversation.  At  a  point 
about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  hotel  the  |);ith 
strikes  a  wagon-i'oad  1h;il  h'ads  down  to  Creer.  Kiver 
and  the  steamboat  landing.  Paths  diverge  to  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Big  Springs,  places  that  have  long 
been  regarded  as  exits  for  tlie  subtciTaiicnn  i-ivcrs.  Hut 
when  on(»  considers  the  great  volume  of  water  jx-nt  up 
within  the  rocks,  and  the  I'apidity  with  which  it  often 


20  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

rises  and  falls,  it  is  evident  that,  although  these  deep 
and  limpid  s])rings  may  be  connected  with  Echo  River 
and  other  cave  .streams,  they  can  not  be  their  main 
outlet. 

\'isitors  usually  defer  their  ramble  to  Green  River, 
and  cross  the  wagon-road  directly  to  the  entrance  of 
the  cave.  In  former  times  a  hotel  stood  near  the  great 
opening  that  now  confronts  us.  T3ut  the  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire  many  years  ago,  and  only  the  scarred 
trees  near  by  prove  that  it  ever  existed.  The  opening 
to  the  subterranean  world  which  we  are  to  visit  is  on 
our  right,  as  we  approach,  and  its  actual  dimensions  are 
usually  underestimated  at  first  sight.  But  it  is  indeed 
a  noble  vestibule,  and  our  impressions  of  its  size  undergo 
revision  as  we  descend  the  stairway  of  limestone  slabs, 
leading  beyond  the  waterfall  that  leaps  down  on  our 
left  from  a  ledge  garlanded  with  ferns  and  the  greenest 
of  liverworts,  and  conducting  us  amid  the  gloomy 
shadows  where  the  daylight  slowly  dies  into  utter  dark- 
ness. A  singular  fact  al)out  this  mysterious  cascade  is 
tliat  it  emerges  from  a  rift  in  the  rocks,  gleams  for  a 
moment  in  the  sunlight  as  it  measures  its  fall  from 
the  arch  to  the  floor,  and  then  instantly  sinks  to  begin 
anew  its  wanderings  through  realms  of  eternal  night 
in  the  nether  world. 

This  is  the  only  entrance  to  ^Mammoth  Cave;  or  if 
there  are  other  entrances  the  fact  has  never  been  made 
known.  Into  this  opening,  smaller  then  than  now, 
went  that  legendary  bear,  with  the  hunter  llutchins 
after  him,  which,  by  an  accident  of  the  chase,  gave  to 
the  world  of  letters  and  of  science  this  greatest  of 
caverns.  Since  those  days  the  fallen  trees  and  rocky 
debris  have  been  ])atiently  removed  ])y  men  skilled  in 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH   AND   ENVIRON -MEXT.  21 

underground  toil,  and  the  rougher  places  with  uncertain 
bottom  have  been  smoothed  and  filled,  until  the  veteran 
Nimrod  would  not  now  recognize  the  place  wliich  lie 
is  said  by  ^Ir.  Frank  Gorin  to  have  been  the  first  of 
all  mankind  to  see  and  imperfectly  explore. 

Certain  hours  are  fixed  for  entering  the  Cave,  from 
which  it  is  not  usual  to  depart.  Four  routes  are  mapped 
out,  the  uniform  charge  for  each  being  two  dollars.  For 
terms  for  the  season,  or  for  large  parties,  or  indeed  for 
anything  special,  application  should  be  made  to  the 
Mammotli  Cave  ]Manager.  Cave  suits  are  to  let,  and 
proper  methods  of  illumination  are  provided  l)y  the 
guides. 

xVs  this  ^Manual  is  meant  for  the  leisurely  perusal 
of  the  general  reader,  the  revising  editor  has  thought 
it  necessary  to  recast  only  in  i^art  the  descriptions 
originally  written  by  the  joint  authors,  at  a  time  wlien 
the  method  of  exhibiting  the  Cave  was  l)y  two  principal 
routes  and  several  special  routes,  instead  of  by  four 
routes  as  no\\ . 

For  convenience,  however,  the  four  cliarts  of  existing 
routes  will  be  found,  together  witii  the  revised  general 
Map  of  the  Cave  and  a  key  to  the  same,  in  tlie  introduc- 
tion to  this  volume. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES 

THE  visitor  is  at  the  foot  of  the  rude  stone  stairway 
leading  from  the  rim  of  the  cavern's  mouth. 
The  patter  of  the  waters  falling  from  the  little 
spring  as  it  leaves  the  mid-arch  forty  feet  above  him, 
sounding  again  and  again  in  mimic  echoes  from  the 
walls  and  roof  around,  gives  him  the  first  inkling  of 
underground  symphony.  Looking  backward  he  catches 
the  last  glimpse  of  the  blue  sky,  forming  a  transparent 
background  for  the  tall  forest  trees  which  seem  to  nod 
him  a  farewell.  A  fleecy  cloud  or  two  tioats  lazily 
across  the  bright  sky;  the  cheery  chirp  of  a  thrush  is 
borne  to  him,  wafted  on  the  incoming  breeze ;  the  same 
air  current  shakes  to  and  fro  the  graceful  maiden-hair 
ferns  which  fringe  the  opening  al)Ove  and  about,  or 
makes  tremble  the  green  leaves  of  the  trees,  made  greener 
still  by  contrast  with  the  dull  gray  of  the  limestone 
wall.  All  these  things  the  visitor  will  note  if  he  be  a 
lover  of  Nature,  and  then  he  turns  to  obey  the  sinnmons 
of  the  guide  and  faces — darkness !  The  rill  at  which 
he  for  a  moment  liad  looked  plunges  into  the  bottom 
darkness,  and  so  will  he.  It  seems  to  him  a  fit  emblem 
of  his  own  life,  from  night  to  night,  but  a  brief  day. 

Passing  along  on  the  right  for  a  distance  of  fifty 
yards  or  more  the  Iron  Gate,  rendered  necessary  to 
prevent  the  work  of  vandal  hands  on  the  formations  of 
the  cave,  looms  dimly  before  us  in  the  gathering  gloom, 
A  moment's  delay  suffices  to  enter,  and  we  have  the 
consciousness  of  being  at  last  under  the  earth,  shut 
in    from    tlie    great,    beautiful    world    of    light,      Occa- 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS   AND  DOMES.  23 

sionally  there  are  found  timid  ones  who  here  turn  back, 
who  can  not  remain  unmindful  of  the  darkness  and  its 
thousand  uncanny  impressions,  and  so  woidd  find 
little  real  pleasure  in  the  journey  now  well  begun.  But 
such  persons  are  few;  the  majoritj^  of  visitors  appear 
to  have  little  tliought  of  surroundings  other  than  a  lively 
sense  of  something  novel,  and  hasten  eagerly  forward  to 
sound  the  mysteries  which  lie  in  the  darkness  beyond. 
One's  impression  of  Mammoth  Cave,  favored  by  the 
great  arched  entrance,  may  here  receive  violent  amend- 
ment, for  the  walls  are  close  on  either  hand  and  the 
roof  is  so  low  that  one  must  stoop  as  he  passes  along. 
But  dangers  to  head  and  feet  are  successfully  avoided, 
and  now  we  pass  through  Hutchins'  Narrows.  On  either 
side  the  loose  rocks  have  been  piled  in  compact  man- 
ner, leaving  a  narrow  passage  of  but  few  feet  in  width. 
These  piled  rocks  bear  silent  testimony  to  the  toil  of 
nearly  a  century  ago,  when  the  miners  laid  them  as  the 
visitor  sees  them,  that  they  might  easier  carry  their 
burdens  to  the  upper  world.  Under  your  feet  pass  the 
pipes,  bored  with  great  toil  from  long  stems  of  trees, 
through  which  was  carried  the  water  of  the  si)ring  that 
we  saw  at  the  entrance,  to  be  used  in  the  leaehing  vats 
within,  as  well  as  to  carry  it  back  again  when  it  had 
accomplished  its  Avork  of  solution  and  was  ready  for  tlie 
clumsy  chemistry  of  the  day  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave. 
To  tlie  left,  al)out  half  w^ay  down  the  Narrows,  rest  tlie 
bodies  of  two  of  the  aboriginal  owners  of  1lie  l.nid.  found 
in  the  soil  by  the  earliest  miners  and  n'huried  at  U\\> 
place.  Their  tomb  is  the  aneient  soil,  their  monument 
the  rude  piles  of  rocks  whieh  the  visitor  i)asses,  usually 
unconscious  that  hert'  lie  lliese  ])i'iiiiitive  ehildi'eii  of  the 
New  World. 


24  MAMMOTII    CAVE. 

As  the  visitor  passes  along  the  Narrows,  suddenly 
the  walls  will  begin  to  recede;  his  pathway  lies  down  a 
small  hill  of  some  ten  or  twelve  feet,  and  darkness,  but 
slightly  dispelled  hy  the  fitful  glare  of  his  lamp,  alone 
confronts  him.  The  guide  announces  that  the  Rotunda 
has  been  reached,  and  the  fitness  of  the  name  is  appar- 
ent. Above  him  sixty  feet  is  the  grand  arch  which 
forms  the  roof  of  this  immense  hall,  broken  into  folds 
and  frets  of  great  beauty  along  the  upper  margin.  The 
ceiling  is  one  great  expanse  of  whitish  limestone,  un- 
sui)ported  ])y  pillar  or  column,  and  is  formed  l)y  the 
junction  of  the  two  large  avenues  which  at  last  take 
shape  as  one's  eyes  become  accustomed  to  the  gloom. 
That  great  avenue  to  the  right  is  Audubon  Avenue, 
and  will  take  us  to  Olive's  Bower,  containing  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  stalactites  to  be  seen  in 
the  cave.  To  the  left  stretches  away  for  miles  the 
^Fain  Cave,  a  Avonderful  avenue  of  great  height  and 
width,  full  of  attractions  for  the  intelligent  observer. 

The  guides  will  tell  you  that  the  Rotunda  is  imme- 
diately under  the  hotel  which  the  visitor  left  a  few 
minutes  before.  There  will  be  pointed  out  to  you  the 
first  of  the  crude  leaching  vats  in  -which  the  early  miners 
obtained  the  lime  nitrate  for  use  in  making  saltpeter  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cave,  as  has  been  already  explained 
in  the  historical  chapter.  Then  will  come  the  brilliant 
illumination,  and  for  the  first  time  the  grandeur  of 
these  underground  halls  is  clearly  made  visible.  As 
the  Bengal  liglits  burn  brightly  the  great  circle  of 
the  central  roof  comes  into  view,  and,  if  in  late  fall  or 
winter,  thousands  of  bats,  in  the  long  sleep  of  winter, 
will  be  seen  pendent  from  the  angles  and  walls.  The 
two   great   avenues   leading   from   the   Rotunda   become 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  25 

still  more  marked  whenever  the  ])right  light  of  illumi- 
nation only  extends  the  boundary  of  their  eternal  night, 
drives  it  back  but  a  little  way  farther  and  adds  to  our 
conception  of  its  blackness. 

We  will  now  pass  down  the  avenue  to  our  right, 
named  for  the  celebrated  ornithologist  of  Kentucky, 
noting  the  vertical  side  walls,  free  from  rock  talus,  as 
we  go.  To  our  left,  well  down  in  the  middle  third  of 
the  wall,  about  five  hundred  feet  from  the  Rotunda, 
will  be  seen  a  low  arch,  forming  the  beginning  of  the 
first  side  avenue.  This  is  the  Little  Bat  Room,  named 
for  the  myriads  of  ])ats  which  in  winter  may  be  found 
here.  The  avenue  along  which  we  are  passing  was 
originally  called  the  I^ig  Bat  Room,  but  Kentucky's 
eccentric  naturalist,  Professor  Rafinesque,  named  it  for 
Audulion,  his  rival  brother  student  of  Nature.*  Little 
Bat  Avenue  leads  by  a  winding  way,  described  in 
another  part  of  this  ^lanual,  to  Klett's  Dome  and  to 
Crevice  Pit. 

Four  hundred  feet  bej^ond  the  opening  into  this 
avenue  the  roof  and  walls  make  a  sweeping  turn  to  the 
right,  and  leave  an  apparently  immense  hall  on  tlio 
visitor's  left.  This  hall  extends  only  some  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet,  ending  in  a  great  hill  of  sandstone 
and  limestone  debris,  sixty  or  more  feet  high,  whieti 
completely  occludes  the  avenue.  To  this  room  the 
name  of  Rafinesciue  Hall  is  given,  while  to  the  hill  itseli! 
the  fancy  of  the  guides  has  affixed  the  name  of  Lookout 
Mountain.  This  is  the  underside  of  a  "sink-hole,"  and 
from  it  tli<'  geologically  instructed  visitor  may  learn 
valuable   lessons.      I'^'i-oiu    the    ii'i'cgular   opening   in   the 

*Now  included  in  Route  II, 


26  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

roof  of  the  farthest  portion  of  the  hall,  water  falls, 
keeping  the  rocks,  everywhere  cemented  with  lime  car- 
bonate, in  perpetual  dampness.  One  entomologically 
inclined  may  here  find  rare  specimens  of  blind  beetles 
and  an  occasional  "cricket";  but  life  is  not  abundant. 

Returning  to  the  great  avenue  which  we  just  left, 
we  find  the  walls  become  more  vertical  still  for  some 
distance,  while  the  arch  overhead  seems  to  widen  as 
we  advance.  Soon,  however,  the  roof  approaches  the 
floor,  the  visitor  unconsciously  traveling  upgrade,  and 
we  are  confronted  by  a  wall  of  rock,  around  which 
we  pass  through  a  narrow  defile.  Then  the  mushroom 
beds,  described  elsewhere  by  Doctor  Hovey,*  appear, 
two  or  three  stone  walls  filled  with  dirt  in  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  force  Nature  to  do  something  for 
which  the  natural  conditions  are  unfitted.  We  look 
upon  them  as  w^e  pass  by;  perhaps  we  sigh  at  the 
cupidity  of  men  who  wish  to  improve  upon  Nature's 
laws;  perhaps  we  laugh  at  the  defalcation  which  left 
others  with  sad  reflections  on  the  honesty  of  their 
fellows. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  ]\Iushroom  Beds  the  avenue 
again  widens  somewhat,  though  the  ceiling  is  mainly 
low.  But  in  the  central  portions  the  ancient  waters 
had  sculptured  out  an  inverted  kettle  in  the  midst  of  a 
somewhat  pronounced  hall,  and  this  is  the  rendezvous 
of  myriads  of  bats.  From  the  name  of  the  genus 
which  is  so  abundantly  here  represented  we  have  given 
the  locality  the  appellation  of  Vespertilio  Hall.  Thou- 
sands of  bats,  in  the  winter  season,  suspended  in  great 
clumps,   may  here  be  seen.     A  single   catch  one  night 

♦A  Mushroom  Farm  in  Mammoth  Cave.     Scientific  American,  June  ii,  1881. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS   AND   DOMES.  27 

gave  Doctor  Call  six  hundred  and  seventy  individuals, 
most  of  which  went  to  the  United  States  National 
IMuseum. 

At  this  place  and  beyond,  the  great  cavern  along 
which  we  have  been  passing  is  practically  below  us, 
and  we  move  along  on  a  floor  or  filling  accomplished 
by  ancient  streams  many  centuries  ago.  We  here  may 
note  the  character  of  the  limestone  roof  which  makes 
the  top  of  every  hall  in  all  portions  of  the  cave,  for 
here  we  are  nearest  it.  In  some  places  we  will  find  it 
smooth,  in  others  thickly  studded  with  small  stalactitic 
concretions  of  various  shapes,  mimicking  hundreds  of 
familiar  forms.  Now  we  ascend  a  small  hill,  some 
twenty  feet  in  height,  and,  passing  between  walls  of  flat 
rocks  cemented  with  calcium  carbonate,  suddenly  find 
ourselves  confronted  by  the  Sentinel,  the  lone  stalactite 
which  stands  guard  over  the  entrance  to  Olive's  J^ower. 

This  stalactite  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
cave.  It  has  joined  the  stalagmitic  mass  beneath  and 
seems,  like  another  Atlas,  to  hold  the  world  of  rock 
above  it  in  place.  The  waters  which  formed  it  spread 
out  on  the  roof  above,  and  now,  surrounding  its  base, 
are  numerous  smaller  ones,  all  hollow,  from  which 
minute  drops  of  water  slowly  drip,  like  ornaments  of 
brilliant  hue,  reflecting  the  rays  from  the  dim  oil  lamps. 
They  tip  each  tiny,  slender  tube  with  l)i-iglit  spots  of 
white  light,  and  sparkle  like  gems  in  their  s(4ting  of 
dark  gray  stone.  The  stalactite  itself  is  fhite(l  and 
folded  in  a  hundred  fantastic  ways,  getting  larger 
bek)\v  and  testifying  silently  to  the  long  interval  o£ 
time  since  first  it  began  to  form. 

A  step  beyond  and  a  deep  pit  arrests  fartlier  jirogress 
for  the  visitor.     But  springing  from  the  middle  of  the 


28  ma:\i>ioth  cave. 

roof  immediately  in  front  of  liiin  is  the  most  perfect 
cone-like  stalactite  in  ]Mannnotli  Cave,  yellowish  white 
in  color  and  tlanked  by  many  like  it,  but  of  less  size. 
In  the  upper  foreground  are  to  be  seen  hundreds  of 
smaller  ones,  all  hollow,  some  uniting  and  making 
groups,  "while  others  preserve  their  integrity  for  a  foot 
or  more,  as  slender  pipelets  of  lime  carbonate  through 
which  ceaselessly  trickle  the  tiny  drops  that  take 
materials  from  the  limestone  above  and  add  them 
slowly,  particle  by  particle,  to  their  lower  extremity. 
On  the  floor  below  are  building  larger  and  flatter 
masses,  very  slowly,  but  which  will,  in  centuries  to 
come,  gradually  grow  toward  the  descending  ones  above 
and  finally  meet  them. 

Cautiously  approaching,  for  the  locality  is  not  with- 
out danger,  the  visitor  may  look  over  the  rampart  of 
stalagmite  and  see  lielow  him,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet, 
a  pool  of  pure  water,  which  reflects  from  its  mirrored 
surface  the  light  of  his  lamp.  This  pool  never  gets 
full ;  the  drops  which  supply  it  never  increase  either 
in  frequency  or  in  size.  Its  jagged  walls  are  fluted 
and  folded  in  ways  indescribable.  Beyond  are  other 
stalactites,  forming  a  gallery,  and  in  the  distance, 
among  the  innumeral)le  crevices,  •  are  to  be  seen  still 
others,  but  1)eyond  examination,  for  the  ceiling  reaches 
quite  to  the  floor  and  the  avenue  ends.  It  only  remains 
to  say  that  these  formations  are  quite  like  those  of 
"White  Cave,  and  are  probably  connected  with  it  and 
with  tliose  of  ]\Iammoth  Dome,  but  are  inaccessible 
from  this  locality.  Olive's  Bower  terminates  the  under- 
ground journey  in  this  direction,  and  we  return  to  the 
Rotunda,  not  failing  to  note  new  aspects  to  the  walls 


The  Ann  Cliair. 
In   Olivi's   Bower. 


The  Bridal  Altar. 

The  Gallery  in   Olive's    Bower. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  29 

of  Audubon  Avenue  as  we  pass  them  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

We  are  again  in  the  Main  Cave,  having  reached  tiie 
Rotunda  and  turned  to  our  right.  High  overhead 
springs  the  wonderful  arch  wliieh  here  reaches  some 
eighty  feet  l)readth,  rounding  off  grachially  into  the 
almost  vertical  walls  along  which  we  are  passing.  At 
our  left  the  guide  soon  calls  our  attention  to  the  Exit 
of  the  Corkscrew,  that  wonderfully  intricate  passage- 
way Avhich  leads  to  the  rivers  l)y  another  route  than 
that  which  we  will  take  to  reach  them.  Yet,  it  is  often 
the  case  that  parties  go  this  way  rather  than  hy  tlie 
Scotchman's  Trap  and  Fat  Man's  Misery,  or  if  going 
the  one  v\-ay  usually  return  the  other. 

This  passage  is  a  most  peculiar  one,  and  is  formed 
by  a  series  of  connected  interstices  between  huge  l)locks 
of  limestone  that  fill  a  pit  of  vast  dimensions,  the 
bottom  of  which,  with  its  wealth  of  gigantic  l)locks 
tum])l('d  in  wonderful  confusion,  constitutes  Bandit 
Hall,  dpscril)ed  elsewhere  in  this  ^Manual.  It  is 
a  brilliant  picture  that .  one  may  see  it"  he  hap])!!! 
near  the  Corkscrew  when  a  large  party  returns  from 
the  river  route  after  climbing  this  devious  passage. 
The  lights  appearing  one  after  the  other  and  foi-ming 
an  irregular  ])rocessi()n  as  the  carriers  wind  along  llie 
])recipitous  face  of  the  Kentucky  Cliffs,  in  which  tiie 
opening  is,  afford  a  weird  and  beautiful  scene.  In 
the  angle  of  the  clift'  and  crevice  rests  one  of  the  old 
water-pipes  used  by  the  miners.  The  guide  will  inform 
the  weary  walker  that  he  may  descend  into  the  ]\Iain 
Cave  l)y  its  means  shouM  he  prefer  that  method  to  the 
rude  stone   wav.      Overhead   vc   note   the   grayish    lime- 


30  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

stone,  mottled  here  and  there  with  fantastic  patches 
of  oxide  of  manganese,  to  which  the  fancy  of  visitor 
and  guides  alike  have  given  more  or  less  appro- 
priate  names.  If  the  visitor  is  not  rather  imaginative 
he  will  probably  regard  some  of  the  names  as  less 
appropriate. 

At  a  number  of  places  in  this  part  of  the  great 
cavern  the  abundant  evidences  of  water  action  will 
arrest  the  visitor's  attention.  Close  to  the  pathway 
will  be  seen  the  Pigeon  Boxes,  a  name  given  to  a  num- 
ber of  small  openings  which  are  formed  by  the  unequal 
solution  of  the  ancient  rocks. 

A  short  distance  beyond  the  Exit  of  the  Corkscrew 
will  be  noted  the  flowing  outlines  of  a  great  circuit  of 
the  cave,  while  to  the  right  may  be  seen  the  water- 
pipes  of  the  old  miners  of  1812,  standing  to-day  as 
wlien  left  l)y  those  busy  toilers.  The  lower  pipe  brought 
the  water  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave ;  the  ujiper  one 
led  it  back,  forced  by  primitive  pumps,  laden  with 
lime  nitrate  in  solution.  It  will  be  interesting  for  the 
visitor  to  note  the  perfect  preservation  of  these  old- 
time  waterways,  for  though  they  have  been  in  the  cave 
for  fourscore  or  more  years  undisturbed,  they  still  show 
no  sign  of  decay.  Try  and  lift  one  of  those  that  lie  in 
the  pathway  and  you  will  be  astonished  at  its  lightness. 
Perfect  in  all  respects,  they  remain  here  faithful  moni- 
tors of  a  patriotism  now  but  a  reminiscence. 

Just  beyond  these  pipes  will  ])e  seen,  well  preserved 
in  the  lixiviated  dirt,  the  tracks  worn  by  creaking  wagon 
with  its  load  of  "peter-dirt,"  or  perchance  the  foot- 
marks of  patient  oxen,  who  here  bore  their  share  of  the 
toil  for  the  maintenance  of  our  national  integrity  among 
the  peoples  of  earth.     At  other  places,  on  the  sides,  a 


tr^ 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DO.MES.  31 

little  farther  along,  will  be  noted  the  grooves  made  by 
immense  hubs  as  they  were  slowly  pulled  through  the 
old-time  mud.  Then  come  the  great  heaps  of  lixivi- 
ated dirt,  telling  us  we  are  near  the  second  of  the  series 
of  leaching  vats.  But  just  before  this  we  will  have 
passed  the  Church,  the  name  given  to  the  great  hall 
formed  by  the  union  of  the  main  cave  and  Archil)ald 
Avenue,  a  broad  avenue  on  the  left,  occluded  at  a  short 
distance  by  gigantic  rocks  and  cubic  yards  of  fine  yellow 
sand.  Tradition  has  it  that  originally  the  name  was 
given  because  here  were  held  religious  services  for  the 
miners,  in  the  olden  time.  However  this  may  be,  occa- 
sionally the  over-Sabbath  visitors  number  among  them 
a  clergyman,  and  these  gentlemen  sometimes  hold  serv- 
ices in  this  locality.  The  writer  was  present  on  one 
such  occasion,  when  the  senior  author  of  this  jNIanual 
conducted  such  an  office.  The  sounds  of  sacred  song, 
swelled  to  great  volume  by  the  ten  thousand  echoes  and 
reverberations  from  the  cliffs  and  grottoes  surrounding, 
were  indescribably  sweet,  and  all  tonic  errors  were 
corrected  by  the  greater  symphony  of  the  large  reso- 
nator hall. 

And  now  we  pass  along  the  great  piles  of  dirt,  and 
when  we  remember  that  much  of  this  material  was 
brought  to  this  locality  in  sacks,  on  the  shoulders  of 
slaves,  from  points  often  two  or  more  miles  away, 
obtained  after  great  labor  in  removing  tons  of  loose 
rocks  and  gathering  the  line  silt,  a  little  here  and  a 
little  yonder,  we  are  impressed  with  the  toil  wliicii  was 
needed  to  procure  materials  for  leaching.  The  hillocks 
of  leached  eartli  stand,  iiiaM\-  in  lumihef,  on  otu'  right 
and  on  our  left:  we  wind  among  them,  we  climb  over 


32  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

them;  we  think,  perhaps,  of  their  makers.  But  our 
mood  must  suddenly  change,  for  our  guides  hurry  us 
away  to  the  vats  themselves. 

In  the  midst  of  these  piles  of  dirt  are  the  second 
series  of  vats,  "hoppers"  the  older  writers  call  them, 
which  well  deserve  careful  examination.  They  are 
from  eight  to  ten  feet  in  width,  and  perhaps  four  or 
five  feet  longer,  and  four  or  five  feet  in  depth  when 
empty.  The  rude  bottoms  are  of  particular  interest, 
since  they  show  the  resourceful  methods  of  the  early 
miner.  Logs,  split  into  halves  and  from  small  trees, 
were  used;  these  were  afterward  rudely  grooved  and 
placed  in  two  layers,  one  resting  on  wooden  supports 
with  curved  surface  down,  the  second  with  convex 
surface  uppermost  and  fitting  into  the  grooves  of  those 
below.  The  waters  after  passing  through  the  content 
of  fine  dirt  Avere  gathered  by  this  primitive  device  and 
made  to  fiow  into  small  pits  near  the  corners  of  the 
vats,  whence  they  were  conducted  to  a  larger  reservoir 
to  be  pumjied  to  the  entrance.  The  leaching  accom- 
plished, the  exhausted  dirt  was  thrown  into  the  heaps 
you  will  see  around  you  and  another  charge  placed  in 
the  "hoppers." 

At  this  point  we  leave  the  ]\Iain  Cave  for  a  short 
time  and  climl)  the  broad  flight  of  stairs,  jiist  beyond 
the  vats,  into  Gothic  Avenue.*  At  the  topmost  part  of 
the  cliff  which  w^e  have  scaled  is  Booth's  Amphithe- 
atre ;  here,  once  Edvrin  Bootli,  that  celebrated  actor, 
gave  a  rendition  of  one  of  the  dramatic  characters 
which  have  made  his  name  famous,  to  test  the  acoustic 
properties   of  this  hall.     He   stood  on   the   large   rocks 

*Now  included  in  Route  II  (from  page  32  to  page  39). 


THE  MUMMY. 

The  Mammoth  Cave  Mummy,  or  what  was  exhibited  as  such 
and  described  on  page  33  of  this  Manual.  This  unique  specimen 
of  a  naturally  dessicated  "mummy  "  reposes  now  in  the  United 
States  National  Museum  at  Washington,  with  a  perfect  history, 
and  it  was  photographed  by  the  late  G.  Browne  Goode  for 
the  writer. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  33 

above  us,  on  the  right,  facing  in.  From  this  circum- 
stance the  place  gained  its  name. 

The  avenue  into  which  we  will  now  advance  is  not 
high,  nor  is  it  very  broad,  except  in  occasional  places. 
The  floor  is  somewhat  irregular,  while  on  every  hand 
are  to  be  seen  the  evidences  of  water  acting  as  the 
agent  of  solution.  The  propensity  of  former  tourists 
to  make  a  record  of  their  visitation  may  be  seen  in  the 
names  smoked  on  every  wall,  in  some  few  cases  scratched 
deeply  into  the  hard  limestone.  The  only  thing  that  most 
of  them  ever  did  to  hand  their  names  down  to  other 
times  consists  in  this  single  act  of  vandalism.  Hundreds 
of  such  names  will  greet  the  visitor  as  he  journeys 
through  portions  of  this  avenue.  Frequently  cards  are 
left  instead. 

Among  the  numerous  grottoes  and  alcoves  worn  out 
of  the  side  walls  by  the  ancient  waters  will  be  noted 
two  or  three  of  particular  interest.  One  of  these  is 
the  ]\lummy's  Niche.  This  name  has  some  historic 
significance.  Away  back  in  the  earlier  yeai's  of  the 
cavern's  history  a  mummy  was  found  in  Sails  Cave, 
on  the  ]\Iammoth  Cave  estate.  This  was  made  the 
subject  of  many  interesting  speculations,  most  of  wliieh 
have  little  value  and  less  basis  of  fact,  but  came  to 
assume  literary  importance.  The  nuuiimy  was  hrouglit 
to  IMammoth  Cave  and  placed  on  exhibition  in  this 
avenue,  and  in  this  si)ot  kept  i'or  some  months.  Later 
it  found  its  way  to  Cincinnati,  by  way  of  Lexington; 
thence  it  was  taken  to  New  York  and  exhibited,  and 
finally  removed  to  Worcester,  IMassachusetts,  where  t'oi' 
many  years  it  remained.  During  the  AVorld's  Fair  it 
was  on  exhibition  in  the  AVliite  City,  and  at  its  close 
,])ee;niic     the     pi-opci'ty     of     the     X;ilioii;il      Museum,     and 


34  M a:\imotii  cave. 

may  now  be  seen  in  AVa.sliin<;ton.  The  miinnny  never 
properly  belonged  to  .Maiiimotli  Cave;  the  only  hnman 
remains  ever  found  within  its  limits  were  the  woman 
and  child  who  lie  buried  beneath  the  rocks  in  Ilutchins' 
Narrows,  near  the  entrance. 

The  chief  objects  of  interest  in  Gothic  Avenue  are 
the  numerous  stalactites,  which  are  found,  however, 
near  its  far  end.  As  we  advance  the  character  of  the 
walls  and  the  ceiling  changes,  the  smooth,  white  areas 
give  way  to  rougher  ones,  caused  l)y  the  innumerable 
smaller  stalactitic  masses  which  hang  from  the  roof. 
We  will  pass  many  State  monuments,  and  to  these  we 
will  add  o'lr  quota,  mindfid  only  of  the  fair  name  of  our 
State.  What  boots  it  if  we  take  from  that  of  a  rival 
State  and  add  to  our  own?  Do  we  not  know  that  this 
has  been  done  by  others,  perhaps  from  our  own?  And 
so  we  take  two,  one  to  repair  the  damage  done,  the 
other  to  add  our  mite  to  the  growing  column!  Ken- 
tucky's ]\Ionument  is  the  largest  of  them  all,  reaching 
to  the  very  roof;  yet  be  it  said,  Kentucky's  people  know 
less  of  their  great  wonder  than  many  from  far  beyond 
its  limits.  But  now  the  monuments  are  all  passed,  and 
we  reach  the  first  stalactitic-stalagmite  of  the  avenue. 
It  is  the  Post  Oak  Pillar  from  some  fancied  resem- 
blance to  an  old  oak  stump  deprived  of  its  bark. 
Sj) ringing  from  the  roof  about  its  base  are  hundreds  of 
smaller  forms,  many  imitating  bunches  of  grapes,  while 
it  has  grown  downward  and  long  ago  joined  the  mass 
on  the  floor.  Neither  it  nor  many  of  its  fellows  are 
now  growing;  the  avenue  is  one  of  the  driest  in  the 
great  cave,  belongs  to  the  upper  levels,  and  the  waters 
which  form  stalactites,  except  in  a  single  instance,  long 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  35 

since  left  its  locality.  The  Pillared  Castle,  the  Gothic 
Chapel,  the  Pillar  of  Hercules,  the  largest  group  of 
stalactites  in  the  cave,  Pompey  and  Ctesar,  the  Wasps' 
Nests,  the  Elephants'  Heads,  Wilkin's  Arm-Chair,  all 
come  in  rapid  succession,  and  are  suggestive  of  caprice 
unrivaled  in  naming  the  several  objects.  Fancy, 
mythologic  lore,  caprice,  sentiment,  history,  all  have 
contributed  to  the  nomenclature  employed,  and  not 
always  with  best  results.  The  eternal  fitness  of  things 
has  not  always  been  kept  steadily  in  view. 

The  Pillar  of  Hercules  is  a  great  matted  series  of 
stalactites  which  have  grown  entirely  to  the  masses  of 
stalagmite  on  the  bottom,  though  the  group  is  l)y  no 
means  solid.  Aside  from  its  size  one  could  hardly 
imagine  what  suggested  the  name.  Similar  in  its 
formation,  ])ut  yt't  quite  widely  distinct  in  its  integral 
members,  appears  next  the  Bridal  Altar,  in  which  thus 
far  twelve  weddings  have  occurred.  The  writer  for- 
bears to  tell  you  the  story  which  the  guide  will  surely 
repeat  at  this  place,  for  something  must  be  left  to  the 
faithful  pilot  who  has  taken  you  thus  far  on  your  jour- 
ney. Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  altar  is  made  u])  of  three 
separate  stalactites,  very  large  above  and  rjitlicr  small 
below,  which  are  so  placed  as  to  form  a  triangular 
chamber  between  them.  One  of  these  is  the  officiating 
clergyman,  the  others  the  chief  actors  in  an  important 
part  of  life's  drama. 

Having  passed  the  Bridal  Altar  we  come  to  the  end 
of  the  usually  travch'd  route  and  find  ourselves  on  the 
])row  of  a  stec])  hill,  but  looking  out  into  the  impiMi;^- 
trablc  darkness  hcyoud.  When  we  beeoiiie  aecustoiiied 
to  the  gloom  the  faint  illumination  oT  our  lamps  dis- 
closes a  deep  pit  before  us,  backed  by  a  great  hill   of 


36  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

sandstoiu'  to  wliicli  the  name  of  Limitation  Hill  is 
given.  This  name  was  suggested  by  the  fact  that  the 
great  avenue  into  wliich  Ave  have  entered  is  occluded 
by  the  mass  of  sandstone  debris  which  forms  the  hill, 
a  fact  to  be  seen  at  one  or  another  place  in  every 
great  avenue  of  the  cave.  Projecting  over  the  edge  of 
tlie  clitt'  on  which  we  are  standing  is  a  long  and  slender 
rock,  the  Lover's  Lea]),  though  the  name  is  not  sug- 
gested by  the  occasional  use  of  the  Bridal  Altar,  near 
at  hand.  From  the  point  of  this  rock  the  illumination, 
by  means  of  Bengal  lights,  shows  a  wild  and  tumultu- 
ously  grouped  mass  of  rocks,  and  down  them  leads  a 
narrow  pathway  which  parties  sometimes  take  to 
other  wonders  below.  Tliis  Hill  of  Difficulty  leads 
to  a  narrow  opening  in  the  face  of  the  cliff,  fifty  feet 
below  us  and  on  the  left. 

The  opening,  which  can  not  be  seen  from  the  brow 
of  the  hill,  is  high  but  narrow,  and  suddenly  appears 
before  us  in  the  face  of  the  solid  rock.  This  is 
Elbow  Crevice,  much  like  the  Fat  ]\Ian's  Misery,  but 
lofty  and  the  walls  wrinkled  and  folded  in  many  fan- 
tastic ways  by  the  waters  which  have  long  since  ceased 
to  fall  hi>re.  The  narrow  i)atliway  in  the  crevice 
skirts  a  shallow  but  ragged  pit,  the  first  we  have  seen 
upon  this  journey,  called  Joseph's  Pit.  Its  ragged  edge 
so  hides  the  bottom  that  the  passer-by  fails  to  note  the 
jagged  sides  of  the  pit  unless  he  go  close  to  the  margin, 
which  is,  however,  not  without  some  danger.  He  then 
learns  that  he  is  passing  over  a  thin  slab  of  limestone 
which  separates  him  from  the  space  of  the  pit;  but  one 
is  reassured  when  he  discovers  the  ])ottom  at  some  ten 
feet  ])elow.  Taking  for  a  short  distance  the  low  avenue 
on  the  right  we  come  to  a  limpid  pool,  in  the  bottom  of 


IN  GOTHIC  AVENUE. 

An  Alcove. 
The  IClephants'  Heads. 


^-A 


W     o 

<: 

O    § 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS   AND  DOMES.  37 

a  shallow  basin,  and  this  is  the  Cooling  Tub.  The 
yellow  sands  which  make  the  tioor  liere  are  suitable 
homes  for  the  larval  forms  of  the  1)1  ind  beetles  which 
here  abound,  and  which  may  be  seen  scurrying  away, 
disturbed  by  the  heat  of  our  lamps.  In  the  waters  of 
the  Cooling  Tub  careful  search  may  reveal  a  few  snow- 
white  crustaceans  crawling  over  the  bottom,  but  without 
eyes.  Back  again  into  the  end  of  the  crevice  we  come 
to  the  beginning  of  a  larger  hall,  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  in  length,  where  is  the  first  dome  we  have  seen, 
Napoleon's  Dome.  The  huge  rock  under  it  and  around 
which  we  pass  is  Gatewood's  Dining  Table,  and  is  a 
great  block  of  limestone  detached  from  the  very  mid- 
dle of  the  apex  above.  We  are  here  immediately  under 
the  Elephants'  Heads  of  Gothic  Avenue,  and  have 
passed  under  the  Bridal  Altar.  The  avenue  along 
which  we  are  to  go  is  Gratz  Avenue,  entirely  distinct 
as  a  geological  feature  from  Gothic  Avenue,  of  which  it 
has  usually  been  regarded  a  continuation.  But  it  is  at 
a  much  lower  level  and  far  later  geologically  than  the 
one  above  us.  A  short  distance  beyond  we  come  to 
Lake  Purity,  a  small  pool  of  water  wliidi  luis  long  been 
known  to  visitors  to  the  cave  by  another  inappropriate 
name  bestowed  by  Doctor  Ward,  one  of  the  first 
explorers  of  the  cavern.  So  well  deserved  is  the 
modern  name  that  the  visitor  will  certainly  walk  into  it 
unless  the  guides  check  him.  No  breeze  ever  ruflles  its 
mirrored  surface,  and  no  drop  of  water  in-er  fidls  into  it 
from  above.  It  is  supplied  slowly  by  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible stream  on  one  side,  and  this  rarely  ever  raises 
its  level.  Twicc^  has  the  writer  walked  into  it,  though 
perfectly  familiar  with  its  surroundings.  Past  the  little 
lake  is  the  Cinder  Bed,  well  named  indeed,  and  some- 


38  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

times,  like  the  Arin-Chair  of  the  gallery  above, 
connected  with  the  name  of  his  Satanic  Majesty  and 
then  known  as  the  Devil's  Ash-Pile.  It  is  a  mass  of 
small  rough  limestone  concretions  or  stalagmitic 
masses,  cemented  together  by  carbonate  of  lime. 

For  a  long  distance  the  avenue  winds  now  to  the 
right,  now  to  the  left,  keeping  almost  uniform  height 
and  width,  with  floor  of  rough  rocks  and  broken  stones, 
until  the  sound  of  falling  w^aters  reaches  our  ears.  The 
visitor  will  pause  to  listen  and  to  look.  Whence  they 
come  he  knows  not,  and  this  fact  makes  the  sounds 
appear  more  uncanny  still.  But  after  he  clambers 
down  a  small  cliff  he  will  wind  suddenly  to  the  right, 
and  the  low  entrance  to  Annette's  Dome  is  l)efore  him. 
Entering  this  dome  he  will  have  his  first  view  of  the 
work  of  falling  waters.  I\Ierrily  dashing  from  a  hole  in 
the  face  of  the  dome  twenty  or  more  feet  above  him 
and  falling  in  a  hundred  sprays  comes  Shaler's  Brook, 
running  swiftly  across  the  floor  of  the  dome.  Take  up 
some  of  the  pebbles  in  the  bottom  of  this  brook.  Those 
soft  and  snow-white  objects  that  yield  to  the  slightest 
touch  are  the  blind  leeches  which  only  have  been 
found  in  this  place  and  in  Richardson's  Spring.  Per- 
chance a  half  dozen  larger  and  darker  ol)jects  witli 
legs  will  move  hastily  after  the  drop  of  water  which 
circles  the  stone  as  you  turn  it.  These  are  the  same 
kind  of  crustaceans  as  you  saw  in  the  Cooling  Tub. 

But  look  up  and  around  you.  The  walls  are  fluted 
and  scored  as  by  some  gigantic  graving  tool.  Here 
and  there  the  harder  layers  of  limestone  jut  out  as 
sharp  and  serrated  bosses  partially  obscuring  the  view 
toward  the  top.  The  dome  will  be  seen  to  widen  at 
the  bottom  and  to  shade  off  into  a  conical  top,  after 


C.^:CIDOTEA  STYGIA   (Packard). 

From  Annette's   Dome.     Found    only  on    the    under   side    of 
pebbles.     A  perfectlj'  transparent  crustacean,  as  white  as  snow. 


BLIND  MOI.U'SK. 

Related  to  the  Melampus,  a  mollusk  found  in  salt-water 
marshes.  Found  only  in  Mammoth  Cave.  Found  and  described 
by  R.  ]{.  Call  in  1S93,  and  Ijelieved  to  be  the  only  true  cave  mol- 
lusk known  in  America. 


f 


Annette  Dome. 


THE  ROLTE  OF   PITS   AND   DOMES.  39 

the  manner  of  all  others  in  Maiinnoth  Cave.  -The 
incessant  sony  of  the  little  l)ruok  makes  a  music  here 
which  is  to  be  heard  nowhere  else  in  the  cavern.  But 
what  becomes  of  it  'I    Vv'ait  a  little. 

As  the  visitor  turns  to  go  from  this  dome,  at  the  left 
and  low  down  near  the  floor,  the  side  wall  will  be  seen 
to  have  disappeared.  On  bended  knee  it  is  possil)le  to 
pass  into  a  smaller  dome,  adjoining  Annette's,  and  then 
we  hear  tlie  silvery  splash  of  the  waters  in  regions  yet 
lower  down.  It  is  sad  to  think  Ave  can  not  follow  the 
little  brook  and  see  more  of  the  mysteries  of  tiiis  lower 
world.  Out  now  we  go,  and  as  we  are  about  to 
climb  again  the  little  cliff  down  which  we  descended 
we  catch  again  the  sound  of  falling  waters,  but  this 
time  with  increased  volume.  Squeezing  into  a  small 
opening  under  the  little  cliff  on  the  right  we  may  throw 
a  light  down  a  small  crevice  and  find  ourselves  hanging 
on  two  thin  sheets  of  limestone  above  a  large  dome, 
the  bottom  of  which  is  filled  with  water  and  the  sides 
of  which  are  too  remote  to  be  seen.  This  is  Lee's 
Cistern,  and  receives  the  waters  of  Shaler's  Brook  after 
a  wild  plunge  of  nearly  seventy  feet.  The  cistern  is 
one  of  a  large  group  of  domes  and  pits  whose  more 
intimate  accpiaintanee  the  visitor  will  make  after  a 
little,  but  at  another  place. 

Leaving  the  dome  and  cistei'n  l)ehind  us  we  retrace 
our  sli'ps  to  the  ]\lain  Cave,  by  way  of  (Jothie  Avenue, 
but  will  first  note  the  great  hill  of  sandstone  debris 
which  occludes  Graf/  Avenue  as  we  look  on  our  right. 
Above  it  is  a  dome  filled  with  huge  blocks  aud  sand- 
stone debris;  it  is  inaccessible.  That  hill  is  a  famous 
place  on  which  to  collect  "cave  crickets,"  and  an 
occasional   s|)eciiiieii   of   blind   myi'iapod    may   \h'  taken. 


40  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

We  liave  now  retraced  onr  way,  and  are  again  in  the 
^\iun  Cave.  As  we  pass  along  this  portion  of  the  great 
avenue  we  will  note  the  lofty  walls  and  the  grotesque 
figures  of  animals  wliieli  the  deposits  of  manganese 
oxide  on  the  walls  and  roof  rudely  simulate.  Some  of 
these  are  fairly  imitative  of  the  ohjects  after  which 
they  are  named;  others  require  rather  a  vivid  imagina- 
tion to  see  the  objects  supposed  to  be  indicated.  From 
this  point  on  to  the  place  called  Ultima  Thule  there  is 
little  variety  in  the  walls  that  ])ound  the  avenue, 
but  there  is  a  constant  succession  of  instructive  local- 
ities and  marvelous  views  which  serve  well  as  means  of 
learning  the  real  history  of  the  cavern. 

After  walking  a  short  distance  beyond  the  entrance 
to  the  Gothic  Avenue  we  come  across  the  first  large 
blocks  of  limestone  which  appear  in  the  Main  Cave. 
These  are  the  Standing  Rocks,  so  named  from  the  fact 
that  in  falling  they  struck  on  their  edge,  and  remain 
fixed  in  that  position.  The  older  name  of  the  earliest 
explorers  is  suggestive  of  their  aspect,  for  to  them  they 
appeared  as  a  leg-of-mutton  sail,  and  hence  •  arose  the 
original  name  of  the  Sail-Boat.  Later  guides  and  all 
recent  visitors  know  them  simply  as  Standing  Rocks, 
and  by  that  name  must  they  now  be  called.  That  they 
were  detached  from  the  ceiling  is  certain,  though  they 
are  vastly  greater  in  size  than  most  rocks  which  are 
found  in  the  avenues  and  derived  from  the  ceiling. 

An  accident  discovered  the  remaining  feature  of 
interest  before  we  reach  the  great  sarcophagus-like 
rock  which  is  near  us  on  our  right.  This  discovery 
came  when  two  parties,  one  going  out,  the  other  enter- 
ing the  cavern,  passed  in  this  locality.  An  illumination 
was  in  progress  near  the  Saltpeter  Vats,  when,  looking 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  41 

back,  a  statue  was  discovered  as  white  and  distinct  as 
any  Lot  saw  when  his  wife  disobeyed  the  injunction 
and  turned  her  gaze  toward  her  okl  home.  It  is  not 
salt  wliich  we  notice  but  an  ilhiinined  face  of  the  cave 
cut  off  from  full  view  by  two  interft'ring  walls.  The 
old-time  style  of  the  colonial  dame  appears  before  our 
very  eyes,  and  "Martha  Washington's  Statue"  com- 
mands our  admiration  from  its  exceeding  fidelity  to  the 
profile  of  that  distinguished  "first  lady  of  the  land." 
While  this  object  is  but  an  illusion,  it  nevertheless 
interests  us  greatly  and  adds  to  our  enjoyment  from  its 
very  human  aspect. 

On  the  right  hand,  lying  close  to  the  right  wall  of 
the  cave,  the  visitor  will  note  an  immense  rock,  one  of 
the  largest  single  rocks  known  in  the  cavern,  to  which 
the  name  of  Steamboat  was  formerly  given.  But  this 
old  name  did  not  long  survive;  it  was  hardly  suggestive 
enough  of  the  underground  world  to  suit  the  fancy  of 
the  visitor,  and  then,  too,  its  resemblance  to  a  boat  was 
little  indeed.  But  it  does  closely  imitate,  on  near  view 
from  the  path,  an  immense  sarcophagus,  or  rather 
perhaps  we  should  say  casket,  for  the  bui-ial  of  the 
dead.  But  did  not  tlie  giants  of  okl,  that  peopled  our 
boy's  world  and  all  fairyland,  dwell  in  the  eartli,  and 
in  caverns  bristling  witli  l)on('S  of  victims  and  other 
suggestions  of  horrid  underground  feasts.'  What  more 
natural  than  that  here  should  be  buried  one  at  least  of 
that  ancient  race  of  giants,  and  so  tourists  have  ever 
since  told  us,  and  wli;it  all  the  world  says  is  so  must  be 
so!  We  will  accept  the  new  name,  manifestly  so  great 
an  improvement  on  the  older  one,  an<l  the  (Ji.mt's 
Coffin  this  rock  shall  forevei-  be.  liut  go  np  close  to 
it  and  carefidly  note  it.     You  will  discover  that   it   is  an 


42  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

iminciisc  l)iO('k  of  limestone,  torn  from  the  adjacent 
wall,  and  rallini-'  but  a  slioft  distance  has  become  lodged 
in  its  present  position.  If  you  measure  it  a  length  of 
forty-five  feet  will  result,  its  width  will  vary  from  twelve 
to  fifteen,  its  height  will  be  eighteen  feet.  Its  weight 
is  over  two  thousand  tons.  We  will  joass  behind  it 
later  on,  as  we  go  to  the  pits  and  domes  that  are  yet 
ahead  of  us,  and  be  able  to  see  this  monster  rock  from 
three  sides  at  least.  Had  it  never  fallen,  the  A¥ay 
to  the  Pits  and  Domes  would  pro])al)ly  have  remained 
unknown,  Imt  on  breaking  away  from  the  \\all  it  dis- 
closed a  lovr  arch  and  narrow  crevice  through  which 
the  tourist  winds  into  the  devious  Labyrinth.  Over 
the  coffin  may  be  seen  the  emblem  of  the  ant-eater, 
one  of  the  most  perfect  of  the  color  imitations  in  the 
cave. 

Shortly  after  we  pass  the  Giant's  CotSn  we  find  the 
great  avenue  along  which  Ave  are  journeying  turn 
suddenly  to  the  left  at  a  place  called  the  Acute  Angle. 
Here  one  of  the  very  remarkable  things  of  the  cave 
appears,  and  that  is  the  sharp  angle  made  by  the 
underground  waters  in  dissolving  out  this  passage-w^ay. 
The  angle  made  is  less  than  seventy  degrees,  about 
sixty  we  should  judge,  and  does  not  often  find  an 
imitator  even  in  surface  streams.  The  immense  hall, 
seen  hy  illumination  in  both  directions  from  this  place, 
appears  to  fine  advantage,  and  our  impressions  of  the 
greatness  of  tlie  cavern  grow  apace. 

Beyond  the  angle  a  short  distance  there  suddenly 
comes  into  view  the  first  of  the  two  stone  cottages 
wdiich  were  built  here  a  half  century  or  more  ago. 
A  number  of  poor  souls,  suffering  under  that  dread 
malady,    consumption,    and    under    the    advice   of    phy- 


]9SE^^^Lil^ 


The  Acute  Angle. 


The  vSUindin.u  Rocks. 


The   Statue. 


THE   ROITE  OF  PITS   AND   DOMES.  43 

sicians  who  appear  to  have  had  little  knowledge  of 
the  real  nature  of  tul)ercnlosis,  thought  to  find  relief  and 
possibly  complete  health  in  the  cave.  It  was  noticed 
that  the  water-pipes  which  the  old  miners  had  used 
and  the  timbers  of  their  leaching  vats  were  still  in 
absolute  preservation;  it  was  reasoned  from  this 
circumstance,  coupled  with  the  fable  that  organic 
substances  left  in  the  cave  do  not  decay,  that  the 
locality  offered  especially  suitable  homes  for  these 
people.  So  a  number  of  them  came,  two  dwelling  in 
the  rude  stone  houses  which  we  see,  the  rest  in  tents 
located  a  little  farther  on  toward  the  Star  Chamber. 
What  hopeful  conversations  these  hard  and  cold  stone 
walls  may  have  listened  to  we  may  never  know.  But 
hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human  breast,  and  one 
doubts  not  that  it  found  place  here  too.  What  with 
light  work  and  much  exercise,  with  song,  conversation, 
hopeful  (piestioning,  and  eager  anticipation,  the  dark 
days,  whicli  knew  no  sunshine,  wore  slowly  away. 
This  dread  disease,  which  may  find  momentary  respite 
in  sunshine  and  genial  warmth,  had  fastened  itself  on 
these  poor  innocents,  and  they  daily  became  weaker. 
For  one  the  end  soon  came,  but  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  whither  he  had  gone  when  he  was  certain  that 
the  end  was  near.  A  brief  space  of  time,  several 
weeks  only  intervening,  and  the  last  one  was  laid 
away  in  the  final  sleep.  The  curious  visitor  may  learn 
who  they  were  and  when  tliey  died  fi'om  the  rude 
stone  cairns  which  are  in  tlie  old  and  al)an(l()iic(l  ut-ovo 
back  of  the  hotel  garden.  Their  Ixnirs  were  i-iinoNcd 
in  later  years,  ])ut  the  memorial  talilfts  arc  still  there, 
gruesome  reminders  of  tlie  end  of  tiie  brirf  life  spent 
in  the  old  cabins  on  wliich  we  are  looking.     Pei'haps  the 


i4  .MAM. MOTH    CAVE. 

visitor  siglis  when  he  hears  the  sad  story,  perhaps  he 
gives  it  no  furtlicr  thouylit.  In  what  mood  should  we 
take  it .' 

And  now  we  eome  to  the  crowning  glory  of  this 
route,  one  made  famous  by  many  writers  both  in  prose 
and  in  song.  As  Ave  wend  our  way  along  the  smooth 
and  well -traveled  path  we  find  ourselves  at  length  at  a 
small  declivity,  while  on  beyond  stretches  without  end 
the  great  avenue,  sw-eeping  to  the  right  and  lost  in  one 
magnificent  archway  of  absolute  blackness.  The  roof, 
too,  seems  to  have  left  us,  and  we  gaze  upward  into 
unfathomed  night.  The  guides  announce  the  "Star 
Chamber,"  and  proceed  directly  to  make  more  real  the 
illusion  of  the  ])laee.  All  our  lamps  are  either  removed 
or  extinguished,  and  for  the  first  time  in  our  lives, 
mayhap,  we  may  really  know  what  ])lackness  is.  If 
the  party  will  remain  absolutely  still,  the  darkness  of 
the  place  will  become  oppressive.  A  little  shrinking 
nearer  the  guide  or  a  trusted  friend  when  once  we 
realize  how  dark  the  place  and  hov\'  helpless  we  are! 
But  our  guides  told  us  to  look  up  when  they  left  us 
alone,  and  we  look.  Slowly,  as  w'e  become  accustomed 
to  the  place,  the  roof  seems  to  lighten  a  little,  stars 
come  out  one  liy  one,  twinkling  merrily  here  and  blink- 
ing at  us  in  evident  delight  yonder,  then  a  comet  shoots 
across  the  mimic  sky,  and  the  glory  of  the  milky  way 
brings  from  our  astonished  lips  expressions  of  surprise 
and  pleasure.  The  illusion  is  perfect.  The  near  ceil- 
ing, heavily  coated  with  manganese  dioxide,  has  been 
pierced  here  and  there  with  fairy  snow  crystals  or 
gypsum,  and  these  have  reflected  the  dim  light  of  the 
lam])s  of  the  guides  who  left  us  to  enter  a  small 
passage-way  on  our  left.     The  snow-clouds  were  made 


o 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES  45 

to  appear,  and  night  has  coiiic  to  lis  again.  The  speJl 
is  broken;  we  are,  after  all,  in  a  world  of  illusions.  But 
now  the  footfalls  of  the  guides  coming  in  the  distance 
reach  our  ears,  and,  with  some  of  them,  a  bucolic 
concert  of  familiar  sounds,  the  blending  of  the  barking 
of  the  house-dog,  the  crowing  of  the  cock,  a  feline 
battle,  the  lowing  of  cattle,  for  a  little  time  conspire  to 
make  us  think  we  are  still  above  ground.  But  now  our 
ventriloquist  guide  has  rejoined  us,  and  we  are  told  that 
the  end  of  the  route  in  this  direction  is  reached. 

We  retrace  our  way  to  the  Giant's  Coffin  with  more 
than  our  usual  thought,  perhaps.  We  are  prepared  to 
understand  Emerson's  thoughtful  essay  on  "Illusions," 
written  after  a  personal  visit  to  this  cavern,  of  all  the 
glories  of  which  the  Star  Chamber  seems  to  have  im- 
l)ressed  him  the  most  deeply. 

By  rearrangement,  the  region  from  the  Star  Chamber 
to  the  Chief  City  and  beyond  it  to  the  newly  discovered 
Violet  City  is  grouped  as  Route  III,  and  contains  many 
of  the  most  interesting  objects  in  the  cavern.  One  in 
search  of  geological  information  relating  to  i)rocesses  of 
cave-making  will  here  find  much  to  gratify  and  reward 
him  which  can  not  be  seen  elsewhere. 

*Tlie  low  arch  behind  the  Giant's  Coffin,  to  which 
we  give  the  name  of  Dante's  Gateway,  is  but  slightly 
higher  than  the  bottom  of  the  sarcophagus  itself,  and 
the  visitor  will  not  fail  to  catch  a  view  of  the  rear 
surface.  From  this  he  will  learn  tlu'  true  thickness  of 
the  rock,  which  is  eighteen  f(>et.  'IMie  i)assage-way  be- 
tween it  and  the  wall  from  which  it  became  detached 
is  quite  narrow ;  a  series  of  rude  steps  lead  us  down 
and  into  a  circular  room,  tli(>  bottom  of  which  is  cov- 

=>No\v  included  in  Route  T  (from  papc  45  to  page  5S).— H.  C.  H. 


46  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

ered  with  fine  y(41()\v  sand  mixed  at  plaees  with  a 
quantity  of  small  pebbles  derived  from  a  thin  stratum 
of  conglomerate  which  appears  between  the  sandstone 
capping  of  the  region  and  the  Subcarboniferous  lime- 
stone in  wliich  the  cave  is  situated.  This  is  the  Wooden 
liowl  Room,  resembling  somewhat  an  inverted  wooden 
bowl  of  old-time  pattern.  Tradition  has  it  that  a 
wooden  a])original  l)owl  was  once  found  in  this  place, 
whence  the  origin  of  the  name.  The  writer  is,  how- 
ever, disposed  not  to  accept  this  origin  of  the  name 
but  to  suggest  that  it  came  from  the  resemblance 
referred  to.  Although  this  room  is  small  it  opens  on 
great  possibilities  in  several  directions,  and  should  be 
observed  with  the  greatest  care. 

To  the  left  you  will  note  a  low  archway  with  well- 
trodden  pathway;  this  is  the  beginning  of  Ganter 
Avenue,  an  account  of  which  is  given  elsewhere  in 
this  Manual.  To  your  right  is  a  small  opening,  par- 
tially in  the  floor  of  the  room  and  partially  in  the 
base  wall.  Tliis  is  the  old  "Dog  Hole,"  now  called 
the  Steeps  of  Time.  Down  this  we  will  go  with  con- 
siderable care  by  a  rude  stone  stairway,  aiding  our  un- 
certain feet  by  a  firm  hand-grasp  on  the  wooden 
railing  placed  on  the  right.  At  all  seasons  of  the  year 
the  snow-white  festoons  of  Mucor,  a  low  order  of 
fungus,  hanging  at  times  in  shreds  a  foot  or  more  in 
length,  at  others  covering  the  railing  and  the  rocks 
surrounding  with  dense  white  patches  of  cottony  fibers, 
give  to  the  place  its  appearance  of  age  or  anti(iuity. 
The  steps  are  veritably  hoary  with  years! 

Safely  down  we  are  in  the  low  and  irregular  Way  to 
Pits  and  Domes.     The  entomologist  of  the  party  should 


The  vSUir  Chanil)er. 


»      <#v,  /f,  'A.  ./}mi,.M/^^^/  ■     jM 


,^  -vJ^  ^^^^"^   ,,,,,  ^ 


// 


Plan  of  Harrison  Hall. 


Section  of  Harrison  Hall. 
By  H.  C.  Ilovey. 


Plan  of  tha  Labyrinth. 
By  H.  C.  Hovey. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS   AND   DOMES.  47 

here  keep  wide-open  eyes,  for  this  ground  is  famous  for 
collecting.  On  the  old  timbers  which  he  will  find  near 
the  Way,  under  the  damp,  fiat  rocks,  running  along  the 
white  walls  or  leaping  away  from  the  warmth  of  his 
lamp  will  go  innumerable  crickets  and  white  eyeless 
spiders  and  thousand-legged  worms  and  brown  blind 
beetles.  Down  a  short  hill  the  first  water  on  the 
Route  of  Pits  and  Domes  is  seen  in  Richardson's  Spring, 
a  locality  of  the  greatest  interest.  The  work  of  running 
water  will  l)e  noticed  on  every  liand.  The  miiuite 
stream  which  slowly  fills  the  little  pool  called  a  spring 
has  quietly  dug  for  itself  a  narrow  channel,  and  illus- 
trates the  process  which  on  gigantic  scale  has  produced 
the  cave  itself.  The  spring  contains  many  small 
crustaceans,  and  the  flat  rocks  around  shelter  many 
interesting  forms  of  blind  insects.  These  will  ])e  more 
completely  listed  in  another  place  in  this  ^Manual. 

Soon  after  passing  this  spring,  on  the  right,  will  be 
discovered  Side-Saddle  Pit,  so  named  from  its  supposed 
resemblance  to  a  saddle.  Above  it  rises  ^Minerva's 
Dome,  while  into  it  falls,  drop  by  dro]),  the  waters 
which  are  enlarging  it  and  making  it  to  rival  its  near-at- 
hand  fellow.  This  is  one  of  flic  siiiallest  pits  wliidi 
the  visitor  will  see  on  this  roiiti'.  But  its  \v;ills 
should  be  closely  examined,  and  lie  will  discover  how 
beautifully  fluted  and  scoivd  they  are.  At  the  bottom, 
fifty  feet  down,  are  masses  of  i-ocks  detached  from  the 
overhanging  dome,  thirty-five^  feet  above  the  observer. 
Just  beyond  the  i)it  will  he  iiolicc<l  a  low  avniiic. 
Calypso's  Avenue,  which  leads  off  to  the  left.  This 
is  never  visited  exceiit  by  those  who  an-  vcritahle 
cave  explorers,  for  it  is  dangerous  in  the  extreme.  The 
avenue   leads   to    Covered    Pit,    a    short    distance    away, 


48  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

and  beyond  to  Seylla  and  Cliarybdis,  of  Avliieh,  however, 
more  will  l)e  said  in  another  place.  At  one  locality, 
abont  five  hnndred  feet  within  this  avenue,  the  fioor 
suddenly  divides  into  two  halves,  and  the  visitor  crawls 
along- — the  ceiling  is  so  low  he  can  not  walk — with 
this  narrow  cleft  slowly  widening  as  he  advances.  Its 
edges  get  thinner ;  passing  a  lamp  between  the  margins 
we  find  that  we  are  above  a  great  ])it  seventy-five  feet 
deep,  the  boundary  walls  of  which  we  can  not  see.  We 
discover  that  our  floor,  the  roof  of  the  pit,  is  but  a  thin 
shell  of  limestone,  and,  impressed  with  the  discovery, 
we  hasten  back.  But  still  again  the  desire  to  know 
what  is  on  the  other  side  takes  possession  of  us,  and 
again  we  venture.  This  time  slowly  we  move,  certain 
of  our  way,  and  pass  the  Covered  Pit  to  find  ourselves 
gazing  into  blackness  at  the  end  of  a  beautifully  arched 
avenue  in  which  one  may  stand  upright.  "We  have 
reached  the  limit  in  this  direction.  The  sounds  of  fall- 
ing waters  make  music  here,  and  we  know  that  cave- 
making  is  in  actual  progress  around,  above,  beneath  us. 
By  and  by  we  shall  reach  the  bottom  of  this  locality, 
when  its  true  meaning  will  be  disclosed. 

To  the  group  of  pits  and  domes  which  constitute  this 
portion  of  the  cavern  the  senior  author  gave,  in 
1889,  the  name  of  Harrison  Hall,  after  the  then 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  relations  of  these 
intimately  connected  domes  may  be  gathered  from  the 
accompanying  illustrations  showing  their  ground  plan 
and  vertical  section,  correct  in  the  main  details.  This 
portion  of  the  cavern  abounds  in  these  great  chambers, 
and,  judging  from  the  surface  configuration  over  this 
section  of  the  cave,  many  more  similar  domes  are  in 
juxtaposition  and  may  l)e  connected  below.     Since  the 


THE  ROL'TE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  49 

bottom  of  each  is  partially  filled  with  deliris  from  the 
walls  and  roof,  it  is  im|)ossil)le  to  make  one's  way  from 
Harrison  Hall  into  the  ehamliers  which  are  conneeted 
with  it;  hut  the  waters,  wliicli  soiiietiiiies  <i'atlier  in  great 
voliniie  in  the  bottom  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  testify 
to  intimate  connection  with  the  rivers  and  the  lowest 
drainage  levels  of  the  cave. 

It  is  but  a  short  distance  to  the  Bottomless  Pit  from 
the  beginning  of  Calypso's  Avenue.  J^ut  l)efore  it  is 
reached,  the  entrance  to  the  Labyrinth,  in  the  very 
floor  of  the  way,  will  be  discerned,  and  over  it  a  broad 
and  low  archway,  through  the  sands  of  which  a  road 
was  cut  in  1896.  This  is  Darnall's  Way,  and  leads 
directly  to  Gorin's  Dome,  from  the  end  of  wliieli  a 
most  magnificent  view  may  be  had.  When  the  writer 
re-discovered  this  passage-way,  in  IS!)."),  it  had  remained 
unvisited  for  many  years,  and  its  existence  had  been 
forgotten  by  nearly  all  connected  with  the  cavern.  The 
sublime  view  from  the  edge  of  the  mighty  precipice,  holh 
to  the  right  and  left,  should  ])e  se^'U  by  every  visitor. 
Oi)posite  the  entrance  at  the  dome  end  liangs  an  alabaster 
curtain  in  many  sweeping  fokls,  ])erpendi('ular  to  the 
very  bottom,  one  luindi'i'd  and  nineteen  feet  belou'.  Small 
streams  of  water  are  still  engaged  in  cutting  their  way 
into  the  side  walls,  and  the  process  of  enlargement  is 
slowly  ])rogi'essing.  Since  this  dome-pit  is  typical  of 
all  in  ]\lammoth  Cave,  and  of  dome  structure  in  genei-al 
in  limestone  caverns,  it  is  worthy  of  more  complete 
description.     And  this  we  now  attempt. 

The  walls  of  this  great  pit  change  direction  sevci-;d 
times  in  their  course  of  sixty  feet,  sweeping  aruiind 
into    sigmoid    curves    in    such    manner    that    from    no 


50  MAMMOTH    CAVE, 

accessil)lo  place  can  the  whole  be  seen  at  once.  Tht 
I)oint  of  vaiitaiic  is  the  bottom,  reached  from  the 
farthest  side  of  tlie  pit  by  a  dangerous  and  irregular 
well-like  opening,  with  almost  vertical  walls,  from 
which  springs  an  occasional  boss.  Taking  advantage 
of  these  the  careful  climber,  by  pressing  knees  and 
elbows  against  the  sides,  may  descend  a  distance  of 
some  fifty-five  feet  and  find  himself  on  a  mud-covered 
shelf,  with  greater  danger  still  ahead.  Carefully  wa)rk- 
ing  one's  way  down  this  liill,  which  can  not  be  seen 
from  above,  a  bed  of  sand,  when  there  is  low  water  in 
the  river  which  sweeps  along  its  margain,  is  reached. 
On  this  was  found  an  old  boat,  much  decayed,  indicat- 
ing that  this  stream,  Avhich  flows  with  a  current  of 
about  four  miles  an  hour  by  measurement  v»ith  floating 
papers  carefully  timed,  has  some  connection  with  the 
Echo  River,  or  may  he  the  real  underground  river  of 
which  the  Echo  is  ])ut  a  sluggishly  flowing  branch. 
At  all  events  the  bottom  of  Garvin's  Pit,  on  the  extreme 
left  of  the  visitor,  has  a  large  underground  river  skirting 
its  margins.*  But  the  view  upward  from  this  point  is 
g'l'and  indeed.  Vertical  walls  rising  one  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  feet  to  the  very  top  of  the  dome,  with  here 
and  there  bosses  w^liich  on  careful  closer  examination 
prove  to  be  masses  of  coral,  and  these  throw  long 
shadows  toward  the  top  that  move  and  wave  in  long- 
black  lines  as  the  lamps  flicker  and  swing;  the  drops 
of  pure  wat(  r,  that  like  diamonds  hang  from  the  small 
pendent  stalactites  which  in  i)laces  cover  the  sides,  the 

*The  earliest  published  account  of  this  river  was  by  Dr.  Davidson,  who 
describes  it  as  "  suetching  away  in  midnight  blackness  a  horrid  pool  of 
water."  The  boat  mentioned  above  was  built  for  Mr.  F.  J.  Stevenson,  of 
London,  in  1S63,  and  lowered  through  the  window.  Ou  it  he  floated  for  seven 
hours,  a  perilous  voyage  never  repeated. — II.  C.  H. 


THE  ROUTE  OP  PITS  AND  DOMES.  51 

meriy  patter  of  several  small  cascades  which  come 
back  to  us  from  the  river  liall  in  a  thousand  small 
echoes,  and  the  stillness  otherwise,  make  the  bottom 
of  Gorin's  Dome  of  real  interest.  Then,  too,  this  is  |) rob- 
ably  the  only  dome  in  the  cave  that  reaches  from  the 
uppermost  level  to  the  level  of  the  rivers.  It  is,  there- 
fore, the  only  place  where  the  complete  vertical  range 
of  the  cave  can  be  determined,  an  important  factor  in 
its  careful  study.  The  rock  is  here  all  oolite,  and  this 
seems  to  aid  the  waters  in  their  work  of  solution. 
The  dome  is  named  from  one  of  the  original  owners  of 
the  cave,  IMr.  Frank  Gorin;  the  pit  after  William  Gar- 
vin, the  guide,  who  alone  knew  of  tlie  passage-way  to 
the  ])ottom,  and  who  claimed  to  l)e  its  discoverer. 

The  width  of  this  place  varies  from  fourteen  to 
twenty  feet;  its  extreme  length  is  about  fifty-five  feet; 
its  outline  irregularly  dumb-bell  shaped.*  It  broadens 
toward  the  bottom,  after  the  manner  of  all  the  pits  in 
the  cave,  and  besides  the  nuid  and  sand  l)i'ought  in 
at  flood  ])y  the  river,  the  bottom  is  composed  of  great 
limestone  blocks.  The  bottom,  or  shelf  part  first 
reached,  has  a  great  quantity  of  oUl  timbei-s,  I'elies  of 
former  structures  that  were  thrown  in  here  to  get  rid  of 
them.  Tliese  constitut<>  a  famous  ])]ace  for  l)lind  beeth's 
and  myriapods,  and  we  secured  large  numbers  ol'  IhiMu. 

Returning  to  the  Way  of  Pits  and  Domes,  we  pass 
along  the  margin  of  a  narrow  and  deep  crevasse  worn 
into  fhe  solid  rock  and  connecting,  formerly,  Gorin's 
Dcmie  wifh  the  P>()tfomh'ss  Pif.  We  will  visif  fhis  affer 
our  retui-n   fi-oni   th<'   regions   bex-ond    Ihc    nil.    wliich    is 


*As  measured  by  the  aid  of  a  cluster  of  stiiaH  l)alIoons.  its  ht.-it;lil  was  found 
to  be  i6o  feet.— H.  C.  H. 


52  :\IAMM0T11    CAVE. 

now  nt  luuid.  A  l)n(lgo,  the  Bridge  of  Sighs,  enables 
the  \isitor  to  stand  over  the  very  middle  of  this  altyss, 
i'rom  tlu'  l)ottoin  of  ^vhieh  comes  up  to  him  tlie  sound 
of  falling  water.  At  most  seasons  of  the  year  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pit  contains  only  old  l)ridge  timl)ers  and 
large  masses  of  rock,  with  some  very  smooth  banks  of 
mud.  At  others,  when  the  subterranean  rivers  are  at 
Hood,  the  left  bottom  i)ortion  is  iiUvd  with  water.  This 
shows  some  connection  with  the  Echo  or  other  under- 
ground rivers,  and  also  indicates  that  the  commonly 
seen  bottom  of  the  pit  is  not  as  low  down  as  Garvin '■3 
Pit.  From  the  bottom  of  this  pit,  for  notwithstanding 
its  name  it  has  one,  the  view  is  rivaled  only  l)y  that  of 
(forin's  Dome.  Rising  sheer  al)0ve  us  to  a  height  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  feet  is  Shelby's  Dome,  the 
top  of  the  Bottomless  Pit,  named  after  the  first  Gov- 
ernor of  Kentucky.  The  l)ridge  overhead  is  garlanded 
and  festooned  with  pcmdent  masses  of  snow-white 
Mucor,  while  the  light  of  the  lamps  we  leave  burning 
on  the  bridge  show  us  the  character  of  the  fluted  and 
fohled  walls,  in  most  places  absolutely  vertical.  We 
think  of  Stephen  Bishop,  the  colored  guide,  who  first 
crossed  this  place  in  1840,  his  support  being  a  slender 
cedar  sapling,  <ind  we  wonder  not  a  little  at  his 
temerity.  But  that  adventurous  act  not  only  made  pos- 
sible a  visit  to  its  bottom  ])ut  was  quickly  followed 
l»y  the  discovery  of  the  great  Kiver  Hall,  the  Echo 
River,  and  all  the  other  glories  which  have  been  so  well 
described  elsewhere  by  my  fellow-worker.  And  not 
only  this,  but  the  exploitation  of  the  two  large  ])it-; 
which  are  connected  with  the  Bottomless  Pit,  and  which 
altogether  constitute  Harrison  Hall,  first  described,  and 
their  relations  made  out  by  Doctor  Ilovey,  and  needing 


The   Hotloiiikss   Pit. 


THE  ROUTE  OF  PITS   AND  DO.MES.  53 

change  in  but  few  ])artieular.s  from  liis  original  account. 
Do  you  ask  how  we  reached  the  bottom?  On  your 
right  hand,  immediately  after  entering  River  Ilall,  you 
will  note  a  small  opening  leading  into  an  avenue  which 
is  nearly  closed  bj^  a  huge  rock.  Follow  this  a  few 
hundred  yards  and  you  will  find  it  branching.  Do  not 
take  the  right-hand  branch,  for  that  will  lead  you  along 
a  narrow  avenue,  here  widening  a  little,  and  there  with 
bottom  close  to  top,  and  end  at  last  in  a  small  stream 
of  flowing  water  that  connects  directly  with  the  River 
Styx,  and  this  bars  further  progress.  Take  the  left- 
hand  route,  climb  a  low  precipice,  work  your  way  care- 
fully along,  for  it  is  somewhat  unsafe,  and  you  will  enter 
the  pit  two  thirds  of  the  way  down.  The  shelf  on 
which  you  stand  is  narrow,  mudd.v,  and  dangerous.  To 
your  right  will  be  Charybdis,  and  be^^ond  it  the  edge  of 
Scylla  ai)pears  in  view.  On  the  left  is  a  difficult  and 
nuiddy  hill,  down  which  it  is  possible  to  go  with  care, 
and  you  will  eventually  reach  the  bottom,  if,  like  a  fly, 
you  can  almost  cling  to  the  side.  But  the  rough 
concretions  will  help,  and  the  old  timbers  which  are 
found  here  in  numbers  will  assist.  The  bottom  is 
reached  at  last,  and  the  i)aradise  of  the  insect  hunter  is 
attained.  The  lamps  far  above  ajjpear  but  as  bright 
specks  in  the  eternal  gloom.  Around  you  and  about 
you  are  the  evidences  of  fearful  ruin,  ])laces  whence 
the  inunense  blocks  of  limestone  on  whicii  you  are 
now  standing  have  been  detached,  while  ovei-  your 
head,  swinging  from  two  small  points  on  the  sui-i-ouu  1- 
ing  walls  of  the  pit,  is  an  immense  block  which  seems 
in  iiioiii('iit;iry  danger  of  falling  and  ci-ushiug  you.  It 
will  fall  some  time,  will  continue  its  headlong  llight 
toward  the  bottom,  but    i<    will  only  be  after  years  of 


54  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

liaticnt  solution  yet,  when  the  points  will  be  dissolved 
away  and  the  rock  left  free  to  fall. 

After  crossing  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  the  visitor  will 
note  an  enlargement  of  the  avenue  and  numerous  large 
blocks  of  limestone.  This  is  Reveller's  Hall,  suggestive 
of  the  dinner  parties  which  were  formerly  held  in  this 
place.  Since  the  River  Route  was  discovered  this  hall 
has  been  abandoned  for  lunching  purposes.  To  the 
left,  just  beyond,  is  a  narrow  passage-way  leading  into 
Fat  IMan's  Misery  and  to  River  Hall,  discovered  by 
Bisliop  in  1840.  But  just  before  the  narrow  and 
devious  Fat  ]\lan's  ]\Iisery  is  reached,  and  before  the 
Scotchman's  Trap  is  passed,  a  narrow  passage-way  on 
the  left  will  lead  to  the  middle  of  the  wall  of  the 
Bottomless  Pit.  From  this  point  of  view  one  may 
look  down  into  the  pit  on  tlie  left,  and  into  Charybdis 
on  the  right.  In  front,  but  twenty  or  more  feet  above 
him,  is  a  well-rounded  arch,  which  is  the  termination 
of  Calypso's  Avenue,  along  which  we  pass  and  over  the 
Covered  Pit  to  get  our  best  view  of  Scylla. 

There  are  two  objects  of  interest  beyond  Reveller's 
Hall ;  these  are  all  in  the  continuation  of  the  avenue 
that  now  is  caUed  Peusico  Avenue,  along  which  we 
came  to  the  pit.  The  first  of  these  is  Resonator  Hall, 
where  the  avenue  either  crosses  another  avenue  lower 
down  or  else  passes  above  a  dome  in  the  strata  below. 
Whatever  the  real  explanation,  the  production  of 
certain  tones  at  this  place  comes  back  to  us  from 
below  in  volume  increased  a  thousand  fold,  and 
rolls  and  reverberates  along  the  secret  galleries  be- 
neatli.  Then  comes  "Wild  Hall,  where  the  large  rocks 
are  strewn  about  in  abandoned  profusion,  and  among 


THE  ROLTE  OF  PITS  AND  DOMES.  UO 

them  we  carefully  wend  oiir  way.  Next  wc  come  to 
the  Grand  Crossing,  where  once  two  great  subterranean 
streams,  at  slightly  different  levels,  flowed  one  above 
the  other.  They  dissolved  away  the  partition  floor  oi! 
the  one  which  was  the  roof  of  the  other,  and  now  give 
us  unique  illustration  of  the  ways  underground  waters 
will  flow.  At  the  end  of  this  avenue  is.  Angelica's 
Bower,  and  just  l)efore  we  reach  it  the  large  dry 
stalactite,  the  only  large  one  on  this  route,  fancifully 
known  as  the  Pineapple  Bush.  From  the  walls  and 
sides  of  the  grotto  hang  numerous  small  stalactites, 
to  which  the  name  of  Hanging  Grove  has  been  applied. 
As  we  now  return  beyond  the  Bottomless  Pit  we 
note  a  narrow  passage-way  in  the  floor  of  the  avenue 
and  on  our  h'ft.  This  h'ads  down  a  steej)  hill  of  sand, 
obtained  from  the  way  over  its  top  to  Gorin's  Dome. 
The  walls  are  smooth  in  some  places  and  furrowed  and 
roughened  in  others.  On  them  may  be  found,  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  innumerable  crickets,  and,  farther 
along,  an  occasional  myriapod.  We  are  now  in  the 
Labyrinth.  As  we  wind  along,  the  wall  on  our  left 
recedes,  and  crossing  a  rudely  constructed  bridge  we 
stand  under  a  small  dome,  above  a  i)it  now  filled  with 
fallen  debris,  but  a  few  feet,  five  or  six  only,  from  the 
great  Gorin's  Dome.  Up  a  slioi-t  lliglil  of  sfjiirs  we 
proceed,  down  another  on  our  right,  turn  to  the  left 
under  the  way  we  just  came,  and  find  ourselves  at  the 
Window.  For  many  years  this  was  the  only  way  in 
which  the  tourist  might  see  the  gival  dome  hrre  dis- 
closed to  view,  and  the  exhibition  is  wonderrni  indeed. 
Directly  in  front,  hanging  in  fold  after  fold  from  the 
roof  above  as  in  tiers,  is  a  great  curtain  of  limestone 


56  :ma:mmotii  cave. 

covered  ■with  incrustations  of  alabaster.  It  is  limned 
against  the  intense  blackness  ])eyond,  bending  suddenly 
on  our  left  and  appearing  to  shade  ott'  into  deepest 
gloom.  The  splash  of  falling  waters  alone  comes  to  us 
from  below,  where  is  the  swiftly  but  silently  flowing 
river  on  whose  bosom  no  man  has  yet  sailed.*  Its 
inky  waters  can  not  be  seen  from  this  place,  but  we 
know  that  it  is  tliere.  From  the  farther  side  drops 
a  little  waterfall,  and  this  splashes  its  way  down 
the  muddy  hill  at  the  bottom  to  join  the  river  below  it. 
The  Dome  appears  from  this  point  to  be  a  large  horse- 
shoe curve,  but  it  is,  in  fact,  sigmoid  in  outline  and 
rudely  dumb-bell  shaped.  The  guides  will  illumine  this 
view  from  another  window  still  higher  up,  through 
which,  if  the  visitor  has  a  strong  hand  and  nerve,  and 
is  a  good  climber,  may  l)e  had  a  glorious  view  some- 
what higher  than  any  other  the  cave  affords.  But 
water  everywhere  drips  in  this  dome  and  pit,  and  the 
attempt  to  make  the  climb  is  not  without  danger. 

Returning  to  the  narrow  passage-way  from  which 
we  diverge  to  go  to  the  Window,  we  pass  over  a  bridge 
across  a  rugged  pit,  descend  a  short  hill,  and  wind 
along  a  devious  and  intricate  series  of  channels  which 
we  will  call  from  tliis  on  Ilovey's  Ramble.  This  name 
is  bestowed  in  honor  of  the  senior  author  of  this 
Maniud,  whose  work  in  xVmerican  caverns  is  so  well 
and  so  favoralily  known.  It  is  a  fitting  tribute  to  his 
tireless  interest  in  this  great  cavern  and  in  testimony 
of  the  pioneer  scientific  work  which  he  did  that  his 
name   be   affixed  to   these  Da'cUdian   passages.      Several 


-Except  F.  J.  Stevenson,  in  1S63.  The  dams  along  Green  River  have 
caused  the  water  to  back  np  into  these  cfive  streams  so  as  to  make  it  impos- 
sible for  any  darinjj  adventurer  now  to  revisit  "Stevenson's  Lost  River." — H. 
C.  H. 


THE  nOI'TE  OF  PITS  AND   DOMES.  57 

localities  interesting-  to  the  student  of  geology  are  here. 
They  are  instructive  in  the  liighest  degree,  and  must  bo 
seen  it'  the  real  work  of  cave-making  is  to  l)e  under- 
stood. To  this  point  we  have  seen  little  of  the  actual 
work  of  water ;  only  its  results  have  been  noted.  Now 
we  are  to  see  it  at  work  as  a  graving  tool  in  one  of  the 
newest  portions  of  the  cave,  newest  in  the  geological 
sense.  Down  a  rude  stairway  we  pursue  our  way,  up  a 
cliif,  alongside  a  deep  pit,  over  several  sinuous  lower 
channels,  hanging  to  the  sides  here  and  leaping  from 
side  to  side  yonder,  over  narrow  chasms,  until  we  hear 
the  rush  of  falling  waters  and  find  our  pathway  occluded 
by  a  huge  mass  of  stalagmite,  while  pendent  from  the 
ceiling-  are  beautiful,  sonorous  stalactites  of  purest  onyx. 
A  narrow  pass  leads  us  around  and  behind  this  ])o\vcr, 
and  on  our  left  stand  revealed  the  rough  and  .jagged 
walls  of  Putnam's  Cabinet.  Here  in  tlie  pool  of  water, 
always  full,  we  gather  a  pocketful  of  "cave  pearls," 
gaze  with  interest  at  the  waters  falling  t'foiii  an 
opening  in  the  roof,  above  us  some  thirty  feet,  and 
note  that  the  dome  is  made  ui)  of  a  succession  of 
layers  of  fiat  I'oeks  which  luive  differently  i-esisted 
the  action  of  the  solvent  waters.  Every  dome  we 
have  studied,  if  we  could  see  its  toj),  would  ]n-esent 
exactly  this  aspect,  ;ind  from  it  we  learn  lluit  solution 
alone  has  been  the  active  agent  that  made  tlie 
cavern.  Several  smaller  domes  at  this  locality  present 
substantially  the  same  appearance.  They  are  coiniected 
by  a  series  of  small  channels  in  which  running  waters 
may  always  be  seen;  from  th(^  roof's  of  some  and  opim- 
ings  in  tlu;  sides  of  olhei-s  small  rills  pour  forth  to  add 
their  mite,  and  might,  to  the  work  in  hand. 

Passing   along    the    I'ough    walk   the   cave   here   and 


58  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

there  l)roa(lens,  tlien  narrows,  the  roof  rises  away  from 
tlie  rioor  at  times,  while  at  others  it  approaches  quite 
close  to  it.  At  every  point  the  fitful  light  of  the  visitor's 
lamp  brings  into  relief  projections  of  infinite  form  and 
makes  deeper  the  dark  hollows  between  the  rock 
bosses.  The  incessant  play  and  change  of  light  and 
sliadow  afford  unwearied  interest  even  where  the  walls, 
for  some  distance,  otherwise  offer  little  that  is  attract- 
ive. A  half  mile  or  less  of  this  sort  of  thing  and  on 
our  left,  close  up  to  the  ceiling,  in  a  widened  area,  we 
come  to  the  end  of  the  Ram])le.  This  portion  of  the 
cave  is  continually  wet,  and  the  path  sometimes  lies 
through  small  pools.  Last  comes  a  great  bed  of  yellow 
sand,  in  a  large*  round  (•ham])er  at  the  end.  Did  we 
say  sand?  Take  up  some  of  the  ininute  grains  in  the 
hand  and  examine  them  carefully.  They  are  round  as 
shot,  infinitely  smaller,  and  uniform  in  size.  Break 
off  a  fragment  from  that  overhanging  rock.  Ah!  We 
have  it.  This  is  not  sand  but  oiilite.  The  walls 
around  us  are  oolitic  limestone,  and  the  solvent  action 
of  the  waters  has  separated  the  tiny  grains,  and  we 
thought  them  sand.  But  so  thouglit  others  before  us. 
The  peculiar  character  of  this  limestone  and  the  facility 
with  which  water  dissolves  its  cementing  material 
makes  very  treacherous  this  portion  of  the  cavern. 
Do  not  trust  the  bosses  on  the  walls  for  foot-rests; 
they  are  as  likely  to  give  way  beneath  your  weight  as  to 
remain.  Be  attentive  to  your  guide  here  and  you  will 
learn  nmch  of  the  processes  now  employed  in  making 
this  ])ortion  of  the  cave.  Here  the  route  must,  per- 
force, end,  and  from  this  point  we  retrace  our  steps  to 
the  La])yrinth,  and  flirough  it,  the  guide,  our  Dgedalus, 
takes  us  to  safer  li'i'ounds. 


THE  MAIN  CAVE  ROUTE 

FROM  STAR   CHAMBER   TO   VIOLET   CITY 

THE  term  "Grand  Galler}-,"  or  "IMain  Cave,"  was 
applied  by  early  explorers  to  tlie  gijiantic  Inroad- 
way  of  this  subterranean  nietropolis,  extending 
from  the  Rotunda  to  Ultima  Thuk'.  It  is  impossihh'  to 
reach  any  avenue,  dome,  or  chamber  in  the  cavern  v.itli- 
out  first  traversing  a  portion  of  this  central  tlioroughfare. 
The  j\Iain  Cave,  with  its  side-cuts,  is  three  miles  long, 
and  is  worthy  of  ranking  as  a  route  l)y  itself.  P)Ut  it 
suits  the  convenience  of  the  management  to  exhibit  the 
first  half  of  it  in  connection  with  the  Pit  and  Dome 
Route;  and  accordingly  that  part  of  it  is  des('ril)ed  by 
Doctor  Call  as  far  as  the  Star  Cham])er.  What  is 
now  undertaken  is  to  describe  the  remainder  of  the 
Main  Cave,  from  the  Star  Chamber  to  the;  Chief  City, 
and  beyond  it  to  the  terminus,  where  the  massive  wall 
forbids  further  progress.* 

After  leaving  the  hall  of  constellations  and  marvt'lous 
transformation  scenes,  the  gray  cavern  gallery  makes  a 
majestic  sweep  to  the  right.  The  black  ceiling  studded 
with  stars  changes  to  a  mottled  canopy,  like  a  mackerel 
sky.  Soon  these  clouds  float  away,  and  the  remnants 
of  black  oxide  of  manganese  coat  only  the  fringes  of  the 
roof.  The  floor  is  encumbered  with  a  myriad  flat  lime- 
stone slabs,  every  one  of  which  tests  one's  (■(|iiilili!'iiiiii 
by  tilting  in  a  different  diri'ction,  exeept  wliere  they 
have  been  adjusted  so  as  to   make  a  safe  and  conven- 


*This  is  now  iiiacU-  one  of  the  four  rcRiiUir  routes,  and  is  known  as  Route 
III.  U  includes  the  new  discovery,  "Violet  City  "  audits  environs,  described 
at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


60  MAMMOTH    CAVE, 

lent  footpath.  No  stooping'  or  crawling  lias  to  he  done, 
and  the  main  floor  is  everywhere  ahsolutely  dry.  There 
is  no  danger,  even  of  missing  one's  footing,  unless  one 
chooses  to  forsake  the  beaten  way  and  ventures  to  see- 
saw over  the  rocking  flakes  that  cover  the  floor  in  such 
endless  confusion. 

The  guides  point  out  many  curious  objects  as  we 
walk  along.  One  of  these  is  an  enormous  rock  seventy 
feet  long,  formerly  called  the  Keel  Boat,  but  more 
recently  christened  the  Whale.  It  is  "very  like  a 
whale,"  and  rivals  in  its  dimensions  the  Giant's  Coffin. 
A  huge  plate  of  standing  limestone  is  labeled  the  Devil's 
Looking-glass.  There  are  several  "side-cuts,"  passages 
lower  than  the  ]\Iain  Cave,  and  that  return  into  it  after 
devious  windings.  These  are  never  visited  now,  though 
they  were  ransacked  by  the  miners  for  "peter-dirt. " 

Proctor's  Arcade  and  Kinney's  Arena  are  merely 
enlargements  of  the  ]\Iain  Cave,  highly  synnnetrical 
arched  passages,  with  lofty  ceilings,  and  deserving  the 
encomium  that  they  make  "the  most  magnificent  nat- 
ural tunnel  in  the  world."  The  guides  direct  our 
attention  to  stout  poles  projecting  from  rifts  in  the 
roof,  and  we  wonder  how  they  ever  got  there.  They 
also  lift  slabs  along  the  margin  of  the  cave  and  exhiliit 
ancient  fireplaces,  with  ashes  and  embers.  These 
were  described  in  Lee's  "Notes  of  the  ]\lannnoth 
Cave,"  and  also  exhibited  l)y  old  ^fatt  to  the  writer  in 
1881.  By  whom  were  those  fires  kindled,  and  for  what 
purpose  ? 

This  gallery  used  to  be  called  the  "Salts  Room,'' 
or  the  "Snow  Room,"  for  the  reason  that  the  heated 
air  from  the  lamps,  or  even  a  lusty  shout  from  a  guide, 


THE    MAIX    CAVK    UOITE.  61 

brings  about  our  heads  a  myriad  floatino-,  whirling, 
saline  flakes,  like  a  miniie  snow-stonn.  On  examina- 
tion we  find  the  seeming  snow-Hakes  to  be  tiny  crystals 
of  sodium  sulphate,  detached  from  the  ceiling  by  the 
agitation  of  the  air.  Even  when  all  the  cave  is  still 
and  deserted  they  silently  fall,  jjusIuhI  from  tlie  root- 
by  the  growth  of  new  crystals,  and  whitening  thy 
rugged  rocks  by  a  perennial  ])re('ipitation  ot  saline 
snow.  This  is  one  of  the  most  curious  illusions  of  the 
cavern. 

The  resemblance  of  the  ]\rain  Cave  to  a  vast  river  bed, 
along  whose  channel,  now  so  dry  and  dusty,  once  flowed 
a  sul)terranean  Nile,  led  the  excited  fancy  of  the  early 
explorers  to  imagine  the  tremendous  heaps  of  enormous 
rocks  to  be  the  ruins  of  demolished  cities.  Hence  they 
named  them  "the  First  City,"  "the  Second  City,"  then 
came  the  Cataracts,  and  beyond  them,  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently discover,  the  "Chief  City,"  and  other  cities,  five 
in  all.  But  we  do  well  to  observe  the  indications,  in 
passing  along,  that  this  really  was  once  a  stream-sw('i)t 
channel.  We  find  where  the  channel  parted,  Avas 
reunited,  and  then  parted  again,  thus  forming  (piasi 
islands  that  now  remain  as  huge  pillars  from  fifty  to  a 
hundred  feet  in  diameter.  The  spaces  betv^•een  them 
are  usually  sliaUow,  but  wlien  the  jircade  is  iiluiiiiii;iled 
the  jutting  ])Osses  cast  deep  shadows,  and  the  effect  Is 
as  it  we  stood  at  the  intersin-tion  of  inmiense  cross- 
caverns.  The  Sigma  HeiKi  winds  along  with  serpentine 
cours(^  to  the  large  Ci'oss  Kooiiis,  wiiere  tlie  narrow, 
tortuous  bend  suddenly  expands  to  ;i  width  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feel,  whi^h  it  kn'ps  for  li\-i 
hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Midwjiy  is  ;i  lranse|»t  that 
ex]iands  the  total  widtli  to  three  hundred  ami  fifty  feet. 


62  MAMilOTII    CAVE. 

(Lee's  measurement,  as  (inoted  by  Doctor  Bird.)  Thus 
the  S-shaped  bend  opens  into  a  T-shaped  hall.  Recent 
authorities  call  this  magnificent  room  Wright's  Rotunda, 
in  honor  of  Doctor  C.  A.  Wright,  of  Louisville.*  Fox 
Avenue  opens  on  the  right  and  leads  backward  to  a 
point  where  it  re-enters  the  Sigma  Bend,  thus  enclosing 
a  large  cave-island.  On  the  left  the  transept  branches 
around  another  island,  and  opens  into  what  are  termed 
the  Chimneys,  irregular  crannies,  through  which  one 
who  is  not  averse  to  rugged  climbing  may  reach  the 
Black  Chambers  above.  The  black  oxide  of  manga- 
nese, which  we  saw  in  the  Star  Chamber  and  Proctor's 
Arcade,  instead  of  simulating  the  starry  sky  or  the 
floating  clouds,  here  swathes  the  walls  and  roof  in 
absolute  funereal  black,  while  the  enormous  rocks  tum- 
bled about  in  the  wildest  disorder  make  a  scene  gloomy 
beyond  description. 

We  now  approach  the  Cataracts,  and  find  ourselves 
on  the  brink  of  a  steep  hollow  crossing  the  cave  from 
right  to  left,  partly  filled  with  debris,  but  with  sides 
rugged  enough  to  make  a  descent  into  it  dangerous. 
On  the  farther  side  of  this  pit  stands  a  solid  wall, 
M-liile  in  the  roof,  on  our  right,  are  ugly  holes  from 
which  streams  perpetually  fall  into  the  chasm  and 
vanish  amid  the  rocks.  Tliere  is  quite  a  cascade,  even 
in  a  dry  season,  and  after  a  heavy  rainfall  the  tumul- 
tuous torrent  that  descends  amply  justifies  the  term 
Cataract,  and  makes  itself  heard  to  a  great  distance. 

By  picking  our  way  with  care  along  a  narrow  patli 


*In  Mellen's  "Book  of  the  Viiited  States"  (1837 1,  page  100,  what  is  now 
known  as  Wright's  Rotunda  is  called  the  Chief  City,  and  the  five  great  avenues 
leading  out  from  it  are  minutely  described,  in  the  fifth  of  which  was  found  the 
Fifth  City,  the  same  that  was  named  the  Temple  bj-  Lee,  and  to  which  Doctor 
Bird  transferred  the  name  of  Chief  City  that  it  has  had  ever  since. 


THE    MAIN    CAVE   ROUTE.  63 

on  the  left  of  the  Cataract  chasm,  Doctor  Call  and 
myself  reached  what  Doctor  Bird  regards  as,  properly 
speaking,  the  "termination  of  the  Grand  Gallery,"  that 
is  to  say,  of  the  Main  Cave;  although  the  term  con- 
tinues to  be  popularly  applied  to  a  wide  and  lofty 
passage  on  another  level,  and  of  which  more  will  he 
said  presently.  The  spot  we  reached  was  very  interest- 
ing for  another  reason,  namely,  because  the  immense 
weight  of  rocks  and  earth  overhead  had  crushed  the 
strata  into  a  remarkable  syncline  exactly  the  reverse  of 
the  general  arch  of  the  cavern. 

Returning  to  the  Cataract,  partly  descending  into 
the  pit,  and  then  climbing  over  a  wall,  we  find  a  second 
avenue,  near  which  is  the  way  to  the  Solitary  Cham- 
bers and  the  Fairy  Grotto.  The  grotto  was  once  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  places  in  the  cave,  with  grotesque 
stalactites  and  other  attractions  that  have  since  been 
marred  by  vandals.  This  fact  and  also  the  difficulty 
of  access  prevent  this  locality  from  now  being  usually 
exhibited  to  visitors. 

Accordingly  we  will  resume  our  journey  l)y  leaving 
Cataract  Hall  through  an  arch  that  admits  us  to  a 
grand  avenue  commonly  regarded  as  a  continuntion 
of  the  ]\Iain  Cave,  although  really  not  identical  with 
it.  The  path  runs  over  limestone  shihs  1h;it  tilt 
and  clatter  under  our  feet,  and  between  walls  of 
monotonous  gray,  until,  just  as  we  begin  to  grow 
weary  of  the  din  and  the  sameness,  the  walls  sud- 
denly recede  and  we  find  oui-selves  at  the  jtoctal  of 
the  largest  subterranean  temple  in  the  woi-hl.  This 
immense  dome  was  called  the  Temple  by  Mr.  TiCe ; 
but  Doctor  Bird  first  gave  the  name  uT  the  Chief  Cit}^ 


64  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

wliic'li  had  previously  heen  given  to  what  is  now  known 
as  Wright's  Rotunda. 

The  magnitieenee  of  the  Chief  Cit^'  is  not  instantly 
appreciated,  the  first  sensation  being  simply  that  of 
surprise  at  the  recession  of  the  walls  and  the  boundless 
darkness  before  us.  But  when  we  climb  the  ruins  of 
the  mountain  that  rises  from  the  floor,  and  the  guide 
burns  magnesium  or  red  fire,  we  stand  awe-stricken 
beneath  the  stupendous  dome  and  vainly  search  with 
our  eyes  for  the  dim  and  distant  boundaries  of  this 
majestic  temple  of  silence  and  of  night.  The  exact 
truth  is  here  sufficiently  impressive,  and  exaggeration 
seems  an  impertinence.  The  measurement  made  by 
the  writer  and  ^Ir.  Hains,  in  1898,  gave  as  the  extreme 
length  of  the  room  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  as 
its  average  width  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  A 
simple  arithmetical  calculation  will  show  the  areal 
dimensions  to  be  about  one  acre  and  three  cpiarters. 
E.  F.  Lee,  C.  E.,  made  it  two  acres.  Doctor  Call 
remeasured  the  room,  in  1896,  with  a  steel  tape,  exer- 
cising great  care,  and  ol^tained  the  following  results : 
Greatest  length,  five  hundred  and  forty-one  feet;  maxi- 
mum diameter,  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven  feet; 
average  diameter,  one  hundred  and  ninety  feet.  This 
would  give  the  areal  dimensions  as  about  two  and  one- 
third  acres.  A  good  deal  depends  on  where  one  begins 
to  measure,  for  it  is  not  quite  certain  where  the  spring 
of  the  arch  actually  arises.  The  line  also  has  to  be  run 
over  the  irregular  rocks,  for  which  a  varying  allowance 
may  be  made.  Estimates  as  to  the  height  of  the  dome 
likewise  vary  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet.  But  why  concern  ourselves  with  cold  figures 
in  a  place  that  so  fires  the  imagination?     The  reader 


THE    -MAIN    CAVE    ROUTE.  65 

who  has  never  been  under  this  overshadowing  canopy 
can  not  realize  the  vastness  of  that  solid,  seamless  arch 
of  limestone  that  has  stood  the  wear  and  shock  of 
thousands  of  years,  and  that  may  maintain  its  symmet- 
rical span  until  the  Day  of  Doom  demolishes  it,  along 
with 

"The  cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces, 
The  solemn  temples,  and  the  great  globe  itself." 

The  impressiveness  of  the  Chief  City  is  enhanced  by 
utter  solitude,  as  the  writer  can  testify,  having  been,  on 
a  certain  occasion,  accidentally  forsaken  by  comrades 
and  guides,  and  left  alone  on  the  subterranean  mountain 
at  the  solemn  midnight  hour.  Sitting  solitary,  with  no 
better  light  than  that  given  by  a  single  lamp,  and  even 
extinguishing  that  faint  luminary  in  order  to  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  absolute  silence  and  Cimmerian  darkness,  it 
was  strange  what  a  rush  of  imaginary  sounds  filled  the 
place,  and  how  the  fancy  peopled  the  dome  with 
uncouth  and  mysterious  shapes.  What  a  relief  it  was 
to  break  the  spell  by  the  simple  method  of  striking  a 
match,  and  what  company  was  found  in  the  cheerful 
flame  of  my  freshly  trimmed  lamp!  How  welcome,  at 
last,  the  approach  of  Doctor  Call  and  his  i>afty! 

The  dust  of  untold  ages  lies  on  the  huge  rocks,  amid 
Avhich  are  found  half-burnt  bits  of  cane,  which  the 
guides  assure  us  that  the  red  men  used  to  lill  with 
bear's  fat  and  l)urn  in  lieu  of  torches.  Fragments  of 
woven  moccasins,  and  other  remains,  prove  aboriginal 
visitation.  Doctor  Bird  found  these  things,  in  1837, 
filling  the  room  "in  astonishing,  unaccouiital)le  cpian- 
tities."  The  statement  made  by  the  early  managers  is 
that  great  l)onfires  of  these  coml)iis1ilil('s  were  kiiidlcl 
to  illuiniiiati'  the  iiioiinlaiii  and  the  donii'.     l>ut  it  is  au 


66  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

open  question  as  to  the  motives  that  led  the  dusky 
aborigines  to  fre(|ucut  this  mysterious  chamber.  Did 
tliey  liere  hold  prehistoric  councils?  Did  they  find 
amid  this  rocky  fortress  a  safe  refuge  from  pursuing 
foes  ?  Or  were  these  earliest  visitors,  like  the  latest,  led 
hither  by  simple  curiosity?  The  first  white  explorers 
are  said  to  have  found  aboriginal  implements,  pottery, 
blankets  of  woven  l)ark,  and  other  relies  not  unlike 
those  found  amid  the  cliff  dwellings  of  Arizona.  But 
who  brought  them  to  this  subterranean  hall,  and 
whence  came  they,  and  when,  and  what  was  their  fate, 
are  problems  for  the  archaeologist.  Pondering  these 
mysteries  we  reluctantly  leave  the  Chief  City,  with  its 
assemblage  of  nooks  and  rocks,  alcoves  and  monu- 
mental ruins,  all  aglow  in  the  light  of  chemical  fires, 
and  overarched  by  that  marvelous  dome,  which,  as 
every  observant  visitor  has  remarked,  seems  to  follow 
us  in  retiring,  as  the  sky  bends  its  canopy  of  blue  over 
the  moving  traveler. 

It  is  possibly  a  mile  from  the  Chief  City  to  the 
terminus  of  the  cave  in  tliis  direction.  "What  meets 
the  eye  is  a  repetition  of  what  we  have  already  seen, 
only  the  rocks  are  if  possil)le  more  teetering,  and  the 
task  more  wearisome  of  claml)ering  over  the  piles  of 
loose  and  irregular  slabs  of  limestone.  At  intervals  we 
are  rewarded  by  spacious  domes  only  less  grand  than 
that  we  have  just  been  admiring.  St.  Catherine  City 
is  made  by  the  intersection  of  two  avenues.  That  on 
our  right  is  the  Symmes'  Pit  Branch,  and  ends  in  a 
funnel-shaped  pit,  called  a  "well,"  but  dry  now.  The 
left-hand  ])ranch  leads  to  the  Blue  Spring,  and  has  a 
good  path  made  by  the  removal  of  the  rocky  frag- 
ments.    This  painstaking  work  has  been  ascribed  to  the 


THE   MADs    CAVE   ROUTE.  67 

Indians,  but  it  was  probably  done  hy  tbe  old  saltpeter 
miners  in  their  search  for  ''peter-dirt."  Neither  of 
these  branches  will  repay  tlie  ordinar.y  visitor  for 
exploration. 

Resuming  our  way  from  fSt.  Catlierine  City,  we 
presently  come  to  two  very  l)eautit'ul  domes,  whose 
tloors  are  covered  with  fine  sand,  and  whose  smooth 
walls  arise  symmetrically  to  an  oval  ceiling.  As  their 
former  names  were  meaningless  and  inai)i)ropriate,  we 
obtained  permission  to  rename  them.  The  lirst  we 
christened  Waldach's  Dome,  in  honor  of  the  late  Charles 
Waldach,  of  Cincinnati,  the  jiioneer  in  the  work  of 
subterranean  i^hotography,  and  who,  as  he  told  the 
writer,  consumed  five  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  inag- 
nesium  in  taking  some  fifty  views  by  tiui  old-fashioned 
"wet  process."  The  other  dome  we  named  Ilains' 
Dome,  in  honor  of  our  friend,  ]\Ir.  Ben  Hains,  of  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  who  carried  to  perfection  the  task 
]Mr.  Waldach  began  under  certain  disadvantages,  and 
whose  explorations  have  also  added  materially  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  mazes  of  ]\Iannnoth  Cave. 

Beyond  these  lovely  domes  we  tread  an  ascending 
path  over  more  tilting  slabs,  bending  our  heads  low 
to  avoid  concussion  against  tlie  roof.  We  are  in  the 
Garret,  where  salts  abound  like  those  we  found  in  \\\r 
Snow  Room.  (Crystals  hang  from  the  i-oof  and  also 
spring  from  the  earth  in  graceful  forms.  We  p;is.s  ;i  piK- 
of  sandstone  rocks  and  approach  a  wall  ol'  <lry.  thin 
flakes  of  limestone  from  Moor  to  ceiling,  liy  an  nfort 
we  thrust  our  way  a  fi'w  feet  fnrtlier  and  touch  whnl 
seemed  to  us  a  solid,  inipcncti-ahlc  w.-ilh  beyond  whidi 
no  man  could  jiossibly  go.  After  many  futile  elTorts  we 
gave  up   all    hoi>e  of  further  ])rogress,   and   named  the 


6S  MAM. MOTH    CAVE. 

locality  'Tltiiiia  'riiiilc. "  l>ut  siibsoquent  exploration 
has  proved  our  name  for  it  a  misnomer. 

A  young  German  came  from  Berlin  to  America,  in 
1908,  in  order  to  learn  our  language  and  to  acquaint 
liiuisclf  with  our  country.  Ilis  name  was  Max  Kaemper. 
lie  visited  ^lammoth  Cave,  only  intending  to  stay  a  few 
days;  l)ut  prolonged  his  sojourn  for  eight  months,  dur- 
ing which  i)eriod  he  made  as  complete  an  exploration  of 
the  cave  as  possible,  with  the  expert  assistance  of 
Edward  Bishop,  as  guide.  Certain  indications  led  them 
to  suspect  that  a  "tumble-down"  in  Sandstone  Avenue 
might  be  identical  with  the  pile  of  sandstone  we  had 
o))served  at  Ultima  Thule.  Accordingly  they  attacked 
a  limestone  crawl-way  near  the  latter  and  patiently  re- 
moved the  blocks  of  stone,  not  without  some  personal 
risk,  till  they  had  wormed  their  way  through  to  an  oval 
hall,  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  by  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  wide  and  sixty  feet  in  height.  This 
place  was  afterward  named,  for  its  discoverer,  Kaemper 
Hall. 

They  had  been  led  onward  by  the  music  of  an 
unseen  waterfall,  which  was  found  to  precipitate  itself 
into  what  they  named,  for  the  guide.  Bishop's  Pit. 
They  named  another  abyss  for  ]\Ir.  Norman  A.  Parrish, 
the  Parrish  Pit.    There  are  in  all  eleven  pits. 

A  short  passage,  fifty  steps  to  the  right,  where  is 
now  fixed  an  iron  gate,  opens  into  Elizabeth's  Dome,  a 
symmetrical  room  seventy-five  feet  wide  and  as  many 
high,  ascending  by  vaulted  arches  to  a  circle  at  the  apex, 
the  name  being  given  in  honor  of  a  sister  of  Mr. 
Kaemper.  The  Grand  Portal  leading  out  from  it  is  an 
arch  sixty  feet  wide  and  fifty  feet  high,  commanding  a 
general  view  of  the  wonderful  region  christened  "Violet 


The  iMarbk'  'iV-mplc. 


THE  :main  cave  route.  69 

City,"  in  recognition  of  Mrs.  Violet  Blair  Janin, 
the  wife  of  Judge  Albert  Covington  Janin,  and  one  of 
the  })rincipal  owners  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  estate. 
Kaeniper  said  the  place  reminded  him  of  what  the  old 
German  mythology  called  the  "Walhalla,"  the  abode  of 
the  demigods. 

I>engal  lights  were  ignited  here  and  there,  and  an 
aiitomoljile  searchlight  came  to  the  aid  of  my  smaller 
acetylene  hand-lamp,  thus  well  illuminating  this  wonder- 
ful region,  which  we  found  to  be,  by  measurement,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  by  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  wide,  a  worthy  rival  of  the  Chief 
City  and  Wright's  Rotunda  as  to  size,  while  far  ex- 
celling them  in  beauty.  Following  a  rude  pathway  on 
our  left  we  reached  a  sandstone  tumble-down  that  gave 
color  to  the  theory  that  some  locality  like  "Sandstone 
Avenue"  was  near.  A  rich  overflow  of  onyx  binds  the 
fallen  blocks  together. 

By  permission  explosives  were  used  at  this  point, 
until  the  indications  made  the  manager  feel  that  the 
process  was  quite  as  likely  to  burst  to  the  surface  as 
into  Sandstone  Avenue,  and  ac(H)rdingly  he  called  a  lialt. 
The  result  of  continued  effort  would  have  been  desirable 
in  either  event.  In  the  one  case  an  exit  to  the  surface 
would  have  made  it  possible  to  return  to  the  hotel  by 
coacli,  and  in  the  other  a  return  by  the  Long  Route 
would  luive  been  made  practicable,  without  a  wearisome 
tramp  over  paths  already  traversed. 

Sound-tests  by  Kaemper  and  Bishop  were  agreed 
upon,  to  ascertain  whether  Violet  City  and  Sand- 
stone Avenue  were  neighbors.  At  a  fixed  moment,  by 
the  watch,  revolvers  were  fired;  but  their  reports  were 
inaudible,     lilows  on  the   walls,   however,   were   faintly 


70  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

heard.  Sound  iniglit  travel  far  tlirouyh  crevices  in  the 
rocks;  as  Avas  proved  by  the  fact  that,  whih,'  in  the  Chief 
Cit}',  Ave  heard  i)hiinly  tiie  steam  cars  of  the  ^Nlannnoth 
Cave  Railway. 

Violet  City  is  rich  in  dripstone.  Stalactites  and 
stalagmites  are  seen  by  the  thousand,  and  of  every 
imaginable  shape  and  color.  The  Chimes  are  stalactites 
that  emit  musical  sounds,  enabling  one  to  play  simple 
melodies  by  percussion.  There  are  masses  of  fluted 
white  onyx  decked  with  brilliant  crystals.  Grotesque 
objects  amuse  us;  for  instance  a  bit  of  red  onyx  called 
the  Ripe  Tomato,  and  another  formation  named  the  Beer 
^lug  because  resembling  a  tankard  of  foaming  ale.  Thus 
far  these,  and  other  still  more  rare  treasures,  have  been 
guarded  from  such  vandal  hands  as  have  defaced  or 
robbed  too  many  curious  and  beautiful  formations  else- 
where. 

This  new  discovery  is  a  cause  for  congratulation. 
Hil/herto  Mammoth  Cave  has  been  noted  for  its  paucity 
of  stalactitic  decoration;  but  the  formations  in  Violet 
City  are  marvelous,  and  remind  the  visitor  of  the 
splendors  of  Luray  and  the  Grottoes  of  Shendun.  After 
sui'feiting  ourselves  with  this  palace  of  beauty  we  have 
IK)  short  cut  provided  for  us,  but  are  obliged  to  go  back 
;is  we  came  in,  treading  wearily  the  entire  length  of  the 
Main  Cave,  yet  richly  rewarded  by  our  recollections  of 
the  miracles  in  stone  we  have  seen. 


n 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE 

TO  THE  MAELSTROM  AND   HOVEY'S  CATHEDRAL 

THE  River  Koute  has  no  equal  of  its  kind  in  the 
known  subterranean  world.  Its  features  are 
so  unlike  those  of  the  Main  Cave  and  the  region 
of  pits  and  domes  as  to  make  it  seem  an  altogether 
different  cavern — which  indeed  it  really  is.  For  the 
Mammoth  Cave,  instead  of  being  one  vast  excavation,  is 
a  congeries  of  caverns,  whose  walls  and  floors  were 
thinned  by  the  action  of  water  till  they  were  broken 
through  into  one  immense  and  intricate  labyrinth. 

Just  as  the  visitor  to  Niagara  wants  to  see  the 
Canadian  as  well  as  the  American  Falls,  to  gaze  on  the 
impetuous  rapids  above  as  well  as  the  tremendous 
whirlpool  below  the  cataract,  and  to  crown  it  all  hy  a 
ride  on  the  Maid  of  the  Mist  amid  the  seething  caldron 
and  sheets  of  spray,  so  the  visitor  to  Niagara's  rival, 
the  wonderful  ^Mammoth  Cave,  should  take  time  to 
explore  every  route  that  is  open  for  the  pul)lic,  and  he 
will  be  amply  repaid  by  an  experience  that  will  enrich 
a  lifetime. 

The  River  Route,  now  known  as  Route  IV,  often 
styled  ''the  Long  Route,"  extends  to  Hovey's  Cathedral 
and  the  Maelstrom.  It  is  certainly  "long"  as  compared 
with  the  other  routes;  but  no  one  in  ordinary  vigor 
should  forego  its  remarkable  scenes,  utterly  unlike  any- 
thing found  elsewhere.  There  are  frequent  stops  at 
points  of  special  interest,  an  ample  recess  for  a  mid-day 
luncih,  and  an  interval  of  repose  during  the  boat- 
ride  on  Echo  River.  ProiVssor  PI.  A.  Newton, 
of  Yale  University,  Doctor  A.  E.  Foote,  of  Phila- 
delphia, together  with  the  senior  author  of  this 
Manual,  made  an  approximate  measurement  of  the  dis- 


72  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

tanee  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave  to  the  end  of  the 
route  at  Croghan's  Ilall,  and  agreed  in  making  it  four 
miles  and  a  half,  not  including  the  length  of  Echo 
River,  which  we  had  at  the  time  no  means  of  deter- 
mining. In  other  words,  the  trip  in  and  out  would 
require  about  nine  miles  of  walking,  and  the  time 
usually  allowed  for  it,  including  the  boat-ride  and  the 
various  stops,  is  eight  or  nine  hours.*  The  fact  should 
also  be  remembered  that  the  spirits  are  sustained  by 
the  exhilarating  cave  atmosphere,  which  is  as  pure  as 
can  be  found  on  any  ordinary  mountain  top,  as  well  as 
by  the  great  variety  and  novelty  of  the  perpetually 
changing  subterranean  scenery. 

The  River  Route  might  be  taken  by  itself  apart  from 
the  other  trips  below  ground;  but  it  is  more  commonly 
reserved  for  the  second  day's  excursion,  and  as  a 
delightful  sequel  to  the  shorter  routes  that  have  already 
been  described.  "We  will  imagine,  therefore,  that  the 
visitor  has  explored  the  jNIain  Cave  and  Gothic  Avenue 
and  the  region  of  pits  and  domes,  and  has  had  a  good 
night's  rest  at  the  hotel,  before  accompanying  us  on 
this  new  quest  of  adventure. 

Down  the  valley  again  we  go,  led  by  the  guides  into 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  under  the  thick  horizontal 
plates  of  limestone,  from  whose  green,  mossy  ledge  the 
wild  pattering  rill  falls  forever  with  nnisic  on  the  rocks 
below.  What  l)ecomes  of  it?  No  pool  or  stream  is 
visible,  but  the  cascade  instantly  disappears.  An  ice- 
house was  formerly  here,  in  the  days  of  Doctor  Crog- 
han,  and  the  excavation  made  for  that  purpose  reveals 
the  walls  of  a  chasm  that  extends  far  ])elow  the  accu- 


*This  does  not  include  a  visit  to  Hovey's  Cathedral,  for  which  a  longer 
time  must  be  allowed. 


< 

O 


THE   RIVER   ROUTE.  73 

mulatioii  of  rocky  fragments  and  indurated  clay  along 
which  our  pathway  runs.  We  are  really  walking  near 
the  roof  of  a  huge  hall,  like  Dixon's  Cave,  but  tluit  is 
now  filled  by  debris.  The  true  cavern  floor  is  hidden 
from  sight  by  the  Ijroken  rocks  through  whose  confused 
spaces  the  cascade  finds  its  mysterious  way  to  the  gen- 
eral drainage  level  and  gathering-bed  of  subterranean 
waters,  to  which  the  deepest  pits  likewise  cut  their 
way,  and  which  we  are  now  about  to  approach  l)y  a 
more  convenient  route. 

There  are  three  ways  of  reaching  the  region  of  the 
lakes  and  rivers.  Each  has  its  advantages  and  its  dis- 
comforts. Tourists  who  go  in  one  way  usually  come 
out  another,  for  the  sake  of  variety.  The  first  way, 
and  the  shortest,  is  through  the  opening  known  as  the 
Corkscrew,  near  what  are  termed  the  Kentucky  Cliffs, 
on  our  left  and  beyond  the  Rotunda.  The  other  two 
ways  are  reached  by  going  through  Dante's  Gateway, 
near  the  Giant's  Coffin,  and  entering  the  Wooden  Bowl 
Room.  A  passage  to  the  left,  from  this  room,  is  the 
beginning  of  Ganter  Avenue,  which  leads  beyond  the 
rivers.  }iy  turning  to  the  right,  instead,  and  crossing 
the  Bottomless  Pit,  we  come  to  the  Scotchman's  Trap 
and  the  Fat  Man's  ]\Iisery,  by  going  through  which 
we  enter  River  Hall.  Each  of  these  three  ways  will 
receive  a  more  full  description,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  have  just  been  named :  the  Corkscrew,  Ganter 
Avenue,  and  tlie  Fat  j\Ian's  ]\Iisery. 

The  Corkscrew  is  an  intricate  web  of  fissures,  known 
as  long  ago  as  18:}7,  l)ut  not  as  a  passage  to  Rivor  Hall, 
which  liad  not  yet  l)een  discovered.  In  one  of  the 
oldest  i)ublished  descriptions  of  the  ^Mammoth  Cave  it 
is  stated  that  "among  the  Kentucky  Cliffs,  just  under 


74  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

the  ceiling,  is  a  gap  in  the  Avail  into  which  you  can 
scramble  and  make  your  way  clown  a  chaotic  gulf, 
creeping  like  a  rat,  under  and  among  loose  rocks,  to 
the  depth  of  eighty  or  ninety  feet — provided  you  do 
not  break  your  neck  before  you  get  half-way."  That 
is  a  very  graphic  description  of  the  Corkscrew  as  it  is 
to-day,  allowing  for  the  improvements  since  made  by 
removing  obstructions  and  building  stairways  here  and 
there,  so  that  the  passage  is  much  more  safe  and  prac- 
ticable than  formerly.  William  Garvin,  the  guide,  was 
the  tirst  man  to  make  his  way  completely  through,  in 
1871,  to  Bandit's  Hall,  and  thence  to  the  River  Hall. 
Those  availing  themselves  of  the  Corkscrew  have  the 
satisfaction  of  reducing  materially  the  length  of  the 
River  Route,  as  compared  wuth  other  approaches.  It 
is  in  itself  interesting,  as  already  explained,  as  giving 
an  example  of  an  enormous  pit  that  has  somehow  been 
filled  up  with  gigantic  ])locks  of  limestone. 

Ganter  Avenue  is  the  name  now  given  to  a  com- 
bination of  smaller  avenues,  effected  by  sixteen  months 
of  hard  labor  und(n*  the  direction  of  ^Manager  H.  C. 
Ganter.  It  was  platted  in  :\larch,  1891,  by  H.  C. 
Hovey  and  Ben  Hains.  Its  total  length,  as  measured 
by  them,  is  eighty-five  hundred  feet  from  the  AYooden 
Bowl  Room  to  Serpent  Hall;  while  the  direct  distance 
between  those  points  is  only  about  thirty-two  hundred 
feet.  Some  of  the  guides  first  Avormed  their  way 
through  in  September,  1879,  and  as  they  proved  it  to 
be  possible  for  those  caught  beyond  the  rivers  in  a  time 
of  flood  thus  to  escape  to  the  surface,  I  named  the  new 
discovery  "Welcome  Avenue."  But  by  authority  of 
the  owners  I  changed  the  name  to  its  present  form,  in 
1891,  as  a  recognition  of  the  tireless  energy  and  skillful 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  75 

engineering  of  ^Manager  Ganter,  who  thus  overcame 
obstacles  that  seemed  almost  insurmountable..  The 
avenue  as  it  now  exists  really  cuts  through  three  of 
the  five  tiers  of  ]\Iammoth  Cave.  The  passage,  for  a 
long  distance,  though  forty  feet  high,  was  extremely 
crooked  and  also  very  narrow  at  the  bottom.  The 
latter  difficulty  was  removed  by  laying  a  solid  stone 
floor  midway  between  the  bottom  and  the  top,  thus 
making  a  wider  path,  though  even  now  it  is  narrow 
enough  to  try  one's  patience.  j\Iany  roughnesses  were 
removed  from  the  walls  by  judicious  pounding  and 
blasting;  though  enough  knobs  remain  to  serve  as 
specimens  of  those  that  were  formerly  so  numerous 
and  exasperating.  A  remarkable  stone  stairway  of  one 
hundred  steps,  called  "Rider  Haggard's  Flight,"  con- 
nects the  three  levels  of  the  cavern,  as  mentioned 
above.  There  are  branches  leading  from  Ganter  Ave- 
nue to  various  domes  and  pits  and  lovely  crystal  cham- 
bers, all  inaccessible,  however,  to  the  general  visitor. 
The  main  advantage  of  this  avenue  is  that  it  enables 
the  guides  to  take  parties  safely  through  to  the  end  of 
the  cave,  at  any  time  of  the  year,  and  regardless  of 
the  stage  of  water  in  the  lakes  and  rivers.  Otherwise 
we  would  hardly  advise  visitors  to  attempt  this  i)assage, 
unless  they  are  resolute  pedestrians  and  are  willing  to 
endure  some  degree  of  fatigue  in  search  of  adventure. 

The  third  way  of  reaching  River  Hall,  and  the  one 
usually  followed  either  going  in  or  coming  out,  is  by 
crossing  the  Bottomless  Pit  and  going  tlirough  Vat 
Man's  ]Misery.  We  leave  behind  us  Pensico  Avenue 
with  its  noble  archways.  Resonator  Hall,  and  other 
attractions  generally  included  in  another  route.  We 
may,  if  we  have  time  and  inclination,  turn  aside  for  a 


7G  .MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

few  stei)s  and  follow  the  narrow  and  winding  passage 
to  the  left  that  leads  back  to  a  ledge  near  the  middle  of 
the  Bottomless  Pit,  whence  w'e  also  catch  a  glimpse  of 
openings  into  Seylla  and  Charybdis.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  awe-inspiring  spots  in  the  entire  cave. 

But  our  direct  path  leads  us  through  the  tortuous 
channel  to  which  the  too  appropriate  cognomen  of  the 
Fat  Man's  Misery  has  long  been  given,  in  spite  of  every 
protest  from  those  whose  preference  would  be  for  some 
more  poetical  appellation.  The  walls  of  this  serpentine 
channel  are  about  eighteen  inches  apart,  while  the 
average  space  between  the  sandy  floor  and  the  stub- 
born rock  overhead  is  only  five  feet.  The  channel 
changes  its  direction  eight  times  in  the  two  hundred 
and  thirty-six  feet  of  its  length ;  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  its  course  the  floor  comes  up  and  the  roof  comes 
down  to  l)other  tall  men  as  well  as  fat  ones.  Yet,  after 
all,  the  difficulties  of  the  passage  are  usually  exagger- 
ated, and  it  is  doubtful  if  many  visitors  have  ever  proved 
too  fat  or  too  tall  to  get  safely  through  by  the  kindly 
aid  of  the  guides.  Allowance  must  be  made  for  the 
funny  stories  by  which  the  trip  is  enlivened.  Do  not 
fail,  amid  your  jokes  and  laughter,  to  notice  how  beau- 
tifully the  rocky  sides  of  the  Fat  ^Nlan's  ^Misery  are 
marked  with  waves  and  ripples,  as  if  running  water  had 
suddenly  been  caught  and  petrified.  At  last  we  will- 
ingly emerge  from  the  too  close  embrace  of  the  rocky 
walls  into  a  room  fitly  called  '^' Great  Relief,"  where  we 
may  straighten  our  spines  and  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  fuH 
breath. 

Bacon  Chamber,  near  by,  offers  a  striking  example 
of  natural  mimicry.  Masses  of  limestone  hang  down 
like  rows  of  hams  and  shoulders  and  sides  of  bacon  in 


ON  THE  RlVlvR  ROUTE. 
Fat  Man's  Misery.  I"  Cleavela.ul's  Cal.i>u-1. 


As 


^1 


ON  THE  RIVER'ROUTE. 


The  Bacon  Chamber. 
End  of  River  Route, 


Victoria's  Crown. 
In  White  Cave. 


THE  RIVER   ROUTE.  77 

a  packing-house.  The  Odd  Fellows'  Links,  the  Atlantic 
Cable,  and  other  concretions  found  along  the  crevices 
in  the  ceiling  of  the  main  avenue  are  all  stalactitic. 
These  grotesque  shapes  lead  us  to  ask  if  the  reader  has 
ever  noticed  the  true  meaning  of  that  word  "grotesque," 
like  what  is  found  in  grottoes;  just  as  "picturesque" 
is  like  what  we  see  in  pictures. 

We  are  now  fairly  within  River  Hall,*  which  really 
extends  for  miles,  if  understood  to  include  all  the  ram- 
ifications of  the  passage-ways  of  the  subterranean 
waters.  Indeed,  these  come  no  one  knows  whence, 
flow  no  one  knows  whither,  and  emerge  no  one  knows 
where.  Conjectures  have  been  made,  some  of  them 
plausible,  but  positive  knowledge  of  the  mysterious 
sul)ject  is  yet  to  be  gained.  It  is  known,  in  a  general 
way,  that  these  are  the  gathering-beds  of  thousands  of 
sink-holes  opening  down  from  the  surface ;  and  that 
they  come  to  the  open  air  again  in  localities  like  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Big  Springs.  But  precisely  what 
sink-holes  and  what  springs  are  thus  concerned,  who 
really  knows?  The  subterranean  currents  are  capricious 
and  contrary,  now  flowing  one  way  and  then  another, 
obedient  to  local  changes  in  hydrostatic  level.  No  one 
who  has  ever  seen  them  in  their  glory  and  their  terrible 
flood-force  can  accept  the  theory  that  they  find  an 
adequate  outlet  in  the  springs  just  named.  Those  deep, 
bubbling  pools,  lying  along  the  bank  of  Green  River, 
under  cliffs  l)ristling  with  cedar  and  pine,  are  always 
submerged  when  that  river  is  flooded.  At  such  times, 
likewise,  the  cave  rivers  are  flooded,  forming  a  vast, 
continuous    body    fully    two    miles    long,    varying    from 


*River  Hall  is  now  exhibited  on  Route  I,  and  passed  over  more  rapiiUy  in 
connection  with  Route  IV. 


78  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

thirty  to  sixty  feet  in  depth,  and  sometimes  even  more 
than  tliat.  Torrents  empty  into  them  through  the 
numberless  sink-holes.  Every  cascade  in  the  cavern 
adds  its  quota  to  the  result.  The  tlood  may  suddenly 
rise,  but  it  more  slowly  retires,  the  subsidence  of  the 
waters  being  with  a  powerful  suction  causing  eddies 
and  wliirlpools.  There  must  be  somewhere  a  suitable 
exit  for  this  vast  and  tunudtuous  l)ody  of  water.  Such 
an  outlet  is  visible  five  miles  below  ^lammoth  Cave, 
only  it  is  on  the  wrong  side  of  Green  River,  where  a 
torrent  bursts  from  the  rocks  with  force  enough  to  turn 
the  wheels  of  a  mill.  The  problem  will  probably  be 
solved  by  a  more  careful  exploration  of  the  right  side 
of  Green  River.  We  may  say,  in  passing,  that  the 
theory  held  by  Edmund  F.  Lee,  C.  E.,  that  the  accu- 
mulated waters  of  Mammoth  Cave  occupy  a  l)ed  lower 
than  Green  River,  and  ultimately  empty  into  the  Ohio 
River,  or  even  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  is  proved  to  be 
entirely  erroneous  by  means  of  l^arometric  observations 
that  have  been  made. 

Our  pathway  skirts  the  edge  of  a  cliff  sixty  feet  high, 
under  which  reposes  an  isolated  pool  to  whose  sullen 
water  the  name  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  given.  An  iron 
railing  guards  the  way  for  about  a  hundred  feet,  when 
we  descend  a  flight  of  steps  to  a  lower  terrace.  If  we 
venture  down  to  the  margin  and  taste  the  water  of  the 
pool  we  shall  find  it  sweet,  instead  of  bitter  like  that  of 
its  Oriental  namesake.  Turning  a  few  steps  to  the 
right  we  find  a  cascade  which  has  been  regarded  as  a 
reappearance  of  the  waterfall  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
although  of  this  there  is  hardly  sufficient  proof.  The 
cascade  precipitates  itself  into  a  funnel-shaped  hollow 


THE   RIVER   ROUTE.  79 

of  silt,  and  vanishes  under  a  massive  mud-covered  lime- 
stone ledge. 

In  this  vicinity  the  writer  found,  in  1881,  a  natural 
mushroom  bed,  tliat  suggested  the  idea  of  a  mushroom 
farm  here,  similar  to  those  in  France,  whence  thou- 
sands of  bushels  are  annually  marketed.  My  suggestion 
met  with  favor,  and  extensive  beds  were  laid  out  in 
Audubon  Avenue,  on  which  many  thousands  of  dollars 
were  spent ;  but  with  meagre  results  for  lack  of  suitable 
irrigation.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  plan  should  not 
work  well  by  proper  methods. 

The  topic  of  eyeless  fish  and  other  aquatic  inhabi- 
tants of  the  cave  streams  would  naturally  be  treated 
here;  but  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  special  chapters 
on  cavern  fauna  for  the  desired  information. 

While  speculating  as  to  cascades,  mushrooms,  and 
blind  fish  we  were  startled  on  the  occasion  of  our  first 
visit  by  hilarious  sounds  that  heralded  the  approach  of 
another  party.  There  never  was  a  prettier  sight  than 
this  merry  company  when  they  finally  emerged  from 
the  darkness,  sixty  in  all,  with  flashing  lamps  and 
spangled  costumes.  They  wound  past  us  along  the 
sombre  terrace,  astonishing  the  gnomes  by  their  jolly 
shouts  and  jovial  songs.  On  tliey  went,  single  file, 
behind  a  wall  of  stone,  to  come  into  view  again  on  a 
natural  bridge  over  the  River  Styx.  The  details  of  the 
wild  scene  were  brought  to  light  as  they  swung  tlieir 
lamps  in  order  to  catch  sight  of  the  mysterious  l);inks 
on  which  we  stood  below  them.  The  estimated  length 
of  the  River  Styx,  whose  black  waters  wind  their  way 
between  the  steep  walls  and  underneath  the  bridge,  is 
about  four  hundred  feet,  and  its  breadth  is  not  far  from 
forty  feet.    Formerly  it  had  to  be  crossed  by  boats,  but 


80  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

now  it  is  done  l)y  the  natural  l)ri(lge  just  mentioned. 
Tlie  spot  was  dangerous  before  a  guard-rail  was  erected. 
Among  the  thrilling  stories  told  of  cave  adventures  is 
that  told  by  William,  the  guide,  of  Professor  Silliman's 
slipping  from  the  bridge.  The  savant  would  have 
fallen  into  the  Styx  had  not  the  brave  guide  sprung  to 
the  rescue. 

On  descending  from  the  bridge  we  enter  a  lofty  and 
spacious  hall,  where  we  find  the  placid  waters  of  Lake 
Lethe,  a  body  about  as  large  as  the  Styx,  and  which 
was  also  formerly  crossed  by  a  ])(>at.  It  is  now  partly 
filled  with  debris,  allowing  the  construction  of  a  narrow 
path  along  its  margin  to  the  pontoon  that  bridges  its 
neck. 

From  this  we  step  upon  a  beach  of  the  finest  yellow 
sand.  This  is  the  Great  Walk  to  the  Echo  River,  a 
distance  of  some  four  hundred  yards.  The  ceiling  here 
is  not  far  from  ninety  feet  high,  and  is  most  beautifully 
mottled  with  black  and  white  limestones,  like  snow- 
clouds  in  a  wintry  sky.  By  igniting  magnesium  we  get 
the  wonderful  effect  in  its  splendor.  Thus  we  also 
descry  the  marvelous  masque  of  Shakespeare  overhead. 
The  actual  likeness  to  the  renowned  Bard  of  Avon  is 
striking.  The  Great  Walk  is  only  five  feet  above  low 
water  mark,  and  is  submerged  during  the  rainy  season. 
Usually  it  is  in  good  order  during  the  months  when 
tourists  are  most  apt  to  visit  the  cave.  As  we  walk 
along  it  let  us  keep  a  sharp  watch  for  the  Camhanis 
pellucidus,  the  blind  and  white  crawfish  for  which 
the  cave  is  noted.  The  earliest  mention  of  it  is  the 
following : 

"The  river  is  a  stream  of  water  twenty  feet  wide 
and  thej^  say  as  many  deep.     It  was  discovered  only 


P5 


w 


^ 


c 


THE   RIVER   ROUTE.  81 

about  a  year  ago.  Jts  current  is  very  shiggi^ij^  .^j.  j,.^j^ 
been  proved  by  launching  a  piece  of  wood  bearing  a. 
lighted  candle  on  its  bosom.  We  were  informed  that 
a  species  of  wJiite  fish  were  found  here  without  eyes, 
and  the  keeper  of  the  hotel  assured  us  that  he  himself 
had  seen  them,  but  that  their  other  senses  were  so 
acute  the  slightest  touch  of  water  overhead  was  suf- 
ficient to  alarm  them  and  make  them  dart  off  like 
lightning."  Davidson  describes  the  canoe  in  which 
visitors  would  row  a  short  distance  till  stopped  by  a 
rocky  barrier.  Two  of  his  acquaintances  resolved  to 
pass  this  barrier.  "Accordingly,  lifting  the  skiff  over 
the  rock,  they  launched  it  on  the  other  side,  and  rowed, 
as  they  thought,  for  two  miles.  They  beheld  a  great 
many  new  scenes  and  chambers  never  explored  before. 
They  also  saw  some  of  the  white  fish.  As  for  us,  on 
our  visit,  we  were  not  favored  with  a  sight  of  these 
natural  curiosities."  (Extract  from  a  Report  read 
before  the  Society  of  Adelphi  of  Transylvania  Univer- 
sity, January  16,  1840,  by  Reverend  R,  Davidson.) 
This  was  two  years  previous  to  Dekay's  description, 
in  1842,  and  wliich  is  credited  ])y  Agassiz  with  being 
the  first  scientific  mention  of  these  interesting  fish. 

The  first  persons  who  ever  crossed  these  waters 
were  Steplien  Bishop,  the  guide,  accomi)anied  by  Pro- 
fessor Brice  Patton,  a  teacher  in  the  Louisville  Asylum 
for  the  Blind,  and  Mr.  John  Craig,  of  Philadelphia. 
Those  wlio  now  cross  so  gayly  and  with  such  manifest 
delight  can  hardly  realize  the  degree  of  courage 
demanded  for  that  first  voyage  of  discovery  across 
these  subterranean  waters.  JMention  of  the  Asylum 
for  the  Blind  reminds  us  that  at  various  times  a 
number  of  blind  people  have  visited  IMammotli  Cave. 


82  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

Matt  piloted  a  party  of  tliem  through  in  1880;  and  it 
was  remarkable  to  hear  them  speak  without  any  sense 
of  incongruity  of  what  they  had  seen,  and  about  wliieli 
they  were  as  enthusiastic  as  any  others. 

A  fleet  of  flat-])oats  awaits  us  on  Echo  River,  or  on 
Lake  Lethe  in  case  of  high  water  backing  in  from  Green 
River.  These  boats  are  built  of  planks  and  timbers 
brought  in  by  way  of  the  Crevice  Pit  and  Mammoth 
Dome;  though  formerly  every  piece  had  to  come  in  by 
the  Fat  IMan's  Misery.  When  not  in  use  the  fleet  is 
moored  by  chains,  though  grapevines  w-ere  used  at  the 
time  of  our  first  visit.  Ropes  are  not  strong  enough  to 
hold  the  boats  in  time  of  flood. 

Each  boat  has  seats  on  the  gunwales  for  twenty 
passengers,  who  set  their  lamps  down  in  a  row  in  the 
middle  of  the  craft.  The  guide  stands  in  the  bow  and 
propels  the  boat  hy  a  long  j^addle,  or  l)y  grasping  rocks 
projecting  from  the  ceiling.  Usually  but  a  slight  cur- 
rent is  to  be  noticed.  Hence  the  singular  inaccuracy 
of  an  imaginative  picture  by  a  French  artist  that  has 
been  extensively  copied,  representing  the  river  as  bois- 
terous, and  frantic  oarsmen  striving  Avith  might  and 
main  to  keep  the  boat  from  shipwreck  on  the  rocks. 
And  as  the  only  gale  here  is  that  which  blows  out  from 
the  mouth  of  the  cave,  there  is  equal  absurdity  in  a 
striking  picture  that  shows  sail-boats  on  this  calm  and 
unruffled  tide. 

There  are  four  arches,  through  either  of  which  we 
may  launch  on  Echo  River.  The  first  arch  is  only 
about  three  feet  above  low  water,  and  if  the  river  has 
risen  a  little,  it  is  necessary  to  go  on  to  the  second, 
third,  or  fourth  arch.  In  doing  this  we  cross  the 
Sandy   Desert   and   flounder   through   a    mudd.y    place 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  83 

named  Purgatory.  As  has  already  been  stated,  there 
is  a  current  of  varying  strength  when  the  river  rises 
above  low  water  niark.  The  last  time  we  were  there 
the  guide  made  no  use  of  his  paddle,  relying  on  the  cur- 
rent and  his  pointed  staff  to  take  us  through.  Once 
a  party  of  journalists  swamped  their  boat,  but  were 
rescued  by  the  courage  and  presence  of  mind  of  both 
themselves  and  Nelson,  their  guide.  Such  mishaps  are 
rare. 

The  voyage  is  usually  replete  with  pleasure  and  with 
none  but  agreeable  adventures.  The  archway  over- 
head varies  from  five  to  thirty  feet,  while  the  plummet 
shows  about  an  equal  variation  in  the  depth  of  the 
water  over  whose  bosom  we  float.  According  to  the 
barometer  the  surface  is  about  twenty  feet  al)ove  the 
level  of  Green  River,  though  observations  differ,  some 
making  it  more  and  others  less  than  we  have  stated. 
The  width  of  Echo  River  varies  from  twenty  to  two 
hundred  feet,  and  its  length  is  pro])ably  about  half 
a  mile.  The  stream  can  not  properly  be  said  to  have 
any  shore,  as,  except  at  tlie  landing  places,  the  rocks 
come  abruptly  down  to  the  water.  Along  the  margin 
are  a  myriad  cavities,  from  a  few  inches  to  many 
feet  in  diameter,  that  have  been  washed  out  by  the 
stream.  These  cavelets  gave  a  wag  who  was  in  our 
party  the  first  time  we  crossed  the  stream  his  coveted 
opportunity  for  a  joke.  "Oh,  see  these  little  bits  of 
caves — three  for  five  cents,"  were  his  silly  Vt'ords.  The 
solemn  echoes  caught  them  up  and  bore  them,  as  if  in 
derision,  hither  and  thither  and  far  away,  till  he  was 
ashamed  of  himself.  When  tlic  ])('als  of  laughter  tliat 
followed  had  also  died  away,  a  quiet  lady  in  ])lack  velvet 
cave  costume,  with  tiny  sleigh-bells  along  the  edge  to 


84  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

help  i)eople  to  find  hrr  in  case  she  got  lost,  sang  the 
"Sweet  Bye  and  Bye,"  and  the  echoes  were  singularly 
sweet  and  pleasing.  Then  some  one  fired  off  a  revolver, 
and  the  report  rebounded  tremendously  from  rock  to 
rock.  A  native  Kentuckian  favored  us  with  the  famous 
"Rebel  Yell,"  which  was  re-echoed  as  if  a  regiment 
was  rallied  from  the  recesses  of  the  cavern.  Flute 
music  awoke  delicious  reverberations,  and  the  cornet 
brought  out  corresponding  effects.  The  tones  of  a  full 
chord  struck  in  quick  succession  brought  back  a  sweep- 
ing arpeggio. 

It  should  be  explained  that  this  symmetrical  pas- 
sage-way does  not  give  back  a  distinct  echo,  as  the 
term  is  commonly  used;  l)ut  gives  a  melodious  pro- 
longation of  sound  for  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes  after 
the  original  impulse.  The  tunnel  has  a  certain  key- 
note of  its  own,  which,  when  firmly  struck,  excites 
harmonics  with  tones  of  incredible  depth  and  sweet- 
ness, the  lov.-est  of  them  reminding  one  of  the  profound 
undertone  heard  in  the  tremendous  music  of  Niagara. 

The  most  extraordinary  elfccts  are  produced  when 
Echo  River  is  allowed  to  speak  for  itself,  and  can  only 
be  had  when  the  party  is  willing  to  maintain  utter 
silence.  The  method  is  simply  by  the  guide's  agitating 
the  water  by  rocking  the  boat  and  striking  the  water 
vigorously  with  his  paddle.  The  first  sound  to  break 
the  intense  stillness  is  like  the  tinkling  of  myriads  of 
tiny  silver  bells.  Then  larger  and  heavier  bells  take 
up  the  harmony  as  the  waves  seek  out  the  cavities  in 
the  rocky  wall.  Then  it  is  as  if  all  chimes  of  all 
cathedrals  had  conspired  to  raise  a  tempest  of  sweet 
sounds.  These  die  away  to  a  whisper,  followed  by 
mutterings  and  a   noise   as   if  of  an  angry  multitude, 


THE  KIVER  ROUTE.  85 

mingled  with  unearthly  shrieks.  Alarmed,  we  are  ready 
to  go  to  the  rescue;  ])ut  the  guide  inotions  to  us  to 
keep  quiet  and  await  what  is  to  follow.  We  sit  in 
expectation.  Lo,  as  if  from  some  deep  recess  that 
had  hitlicrto  been  forgotten,  comes  a  tone  tender  and 
profound;  after  which,  like  gentle  memories,  are 
reawakened  all  the  mellow  sounds,  the  silver  bells,  the 
alarm  bells,  the  chiming  cathedral  bells,  till  River  Hall 
rings  again  with  the  wondrous,  matcliless  harmony. 

As  we  land  at  Rocky  Inlet  the  melody  of  a  cascade 
greets  us,  whose  falling  water  breaks  into  liquid  pearls 
on  the  ledges.  This  is  Cascade  Hall.  An  opening  on 
our  right  leads  to  Roaring  River,  a  succession  of  shallow 
ripples  and  deep  basins,  navigable  only  by  a  canoe  that 
can  be  carried  over  the  i)ortages.  It  has  a  remarkal^le 
echo,  and  offers  points  of  interest  to  the  scientist,  but  is 
never  visited  by  ordinary  tourists.* 

Silliman's  Avenue  contains  numerous  places  worthy 
of  note.  We  tirst  come  to  singular  shelf-like  projec- 
tions called  Wellington's  Galleries.  Then,  at  the  Drip- 
ping Spring,  we  find  the  only  stalactites  seen  since 
entering  River  Ilall.  Tlie  ])aucity  of  tliese  natural 
ornamentations  is  exphiined  elsewhere  in  this  Manual. 
The  guides,  with  slight  regard  for  reverence,  have 
named  the  next  localities,  in  succession,  the  Infernal 
Regions,  Pluto's  Dome,  and  Old  Scratch  Hall.  We 
leave  them  to  justify  their  choice  of  names  as  best  they 
may,  and  the  tourist  who  disputes  them  will  find  that 
they  are  equal  to  the  occasion.  For  instance,  the  ceil- 
ing in  Old  Scratch  Hall  is  ninrked  ;ill  over  in  a  most 
extraordinary  manner,  which  the  guides  assui-e  us  was 
done  as  a  deed  of  darkness  by  the  lv.il  One,  although  it 

♦Here  now  ends  Route  I,  the  rest  of  this  chapter  belonging  to  Route  IV. 


86  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

looks  very  much  as  if  they  had  done  it  themselves  with 
the  tips  of  their  spiked  staffs.  But  the  trails  of  the 
serpents  in  Serpent  Hall  are  plainly  freaks  of  nature, 
and  are  very  singular.  There  are  many  of  these  wind- 
ing grooves  in  the  ceiling. 

Here  is  the  high  water  mark  of  Echo  River  in  time 
of  flood.  And  here,  also,  is  the  inner  termination  of 
Ganter  Avenue,  which  runs  from  this  place  to  the 
"Wooden  Bowl  Room,  near  the  Giant's  Coffin,  and 
affords  an  exit  for  any  unlucky  tourist  who  may  be 
caught  i)eyond  the  rivers  during  a  sudden  rise  of  their 
waters — a  thing,  hy  the  way,  that  seldom  happens. 
The  Valley  Way  8ide-cut  is  mainly  interesting  for  its 
profusion  of  gypsum  crystals  that  grow  in  the  niches 
along  the  walls,  and  are  dug  from  the  ground  like 
potatoes. 

After  descending  the  Hill  of  Fatigue  we  come  to  the 
facsimile  of  an  enormous  ocean  steamer  with  her  rud- 
der hard  aport;  and  as  the  unique  resemblance  was 
first  noticed  at  the  time  of  the  launching  of  the  pon- 
derous Great  Eastern,  this  was  fitly  christened  the 
Great  Western.  Beyond  it  is  the  Valley  of  Flowers; 
and  then  Silliman's  Avenue,  which  we  have  been  trav- 
ersing, ends  in  Ole  Bull's  Concert  Hall,  where  the 
renowned  Norwegian  violinist  once  gave  a  musical 
entertainment.  Just  before  reaching  this  hall,  how- 
ever, we  notice  on  our  left  the  entrance  to  Rhoda's 
Arcade,  not  included  in  the  regular  route.  It  leads  by 
a  winding  and  picturesque  path,  about  five  hundred 
yards  in  length,  easily  followed,  to  one  of  the  most 
symmetrical  domes  in  ^Mammoth  Cave.  The  arcade  is 
about  ten  feet  high,  and  in  many  places  the  walls  are 
incrusted  with  fine  crystals  of  gypsum.     Lucy's  Dome, 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  87 

thus  reached,  is  about  sixty  feet  in  diameter  and  per- 
haps a  hundred  feet  high,  although  enthusiastic  admirers 
have  credited  it  with  thrice  that  altitude.  The  sides 
are  composed  of  immense  curtains  reaching  from  the 
floor  to  the  dim  vault  above.  A  twin-dome  near  by  is 
•connected  with  it  l)y  a  tall  archway.  During  our  visit 
in  1896  we  had  the  guides  l)uru  red  fire  in  this  window, 
thus  illuminating  both  domes.  The  entire  group  is 
known  as  the  Jessup  Domes. 

El  Ghor  is  a  wild,  rugged  pass,  on  a  lower  level 
than  Silliman's  Avenue.  It  meanders  through  the  lime- 
stone like  the  dry  bed  of  an  ancient  river.  Overhead 
are  the  Hanging  Rocks  that  never  fall,  though  forever 
threatening  to  do  so.  In  Fly  Chamber,  on  the  walls 
and  rocks,  are  myriads  of  tiny  crystals  of  black  gypsum, 
each  about  the  size  of  a  house-fly.  The  Sheep-shelter 
is  a  rock  .jutting  from  the  left  wall  for  ten  feet,  and 
expanding  for  twenty  feet  in  length.  Victoria's  Crown, 
sixteen  feet  in  diameter,  is  on  our  right.  Boone  Avenue 
leads  off  to  the  left.  Corinna's  Dome  is  directly  over 
El  Ghor.  The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  is  an  ugly  pit 
twenty  feet  deep.  Stella's  Dome,  which  resembles 
Lucy's  Dome,  is  reached  by  an  avenue  to  the  left. 
The  guides  also  point  out  the  :Mule-stall,  the  Anvil,  the 
Chimes,  and  other  grotesque  objects.  Hebe's  Si)i'ing, 
four  feet  wide  and  a  foot  or  more  deep,  is  said  to  be 
supplied  with  pure  water  at  the  top  and  sulphur  water 
below.  J'>oone  Avenue,  on  our  left,  was  for  ycjirs  hlocki'd 
by  a  stone  stairway  now  removed.  We  sluill  prc-cully 
describe  discoveries  iiuule  in  1007  in  this  (iii-cctiou.  But 
now,  through  an  iinin\iting  hob',  we  cliiiil)  to  Mary's 
Vineyard.  A  staladil*'  winds  fi-oin  ceiling  to  Hoor,  and  is 
called  the  Grapevine     Ai-ound  it  are  countless  nodules 


S8  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

of  ealeiiuu  carbonate  coated  with  black  oxide  of  iron, 
which  simulate  clusters  on  clusters  of  luscious  grapes, 
gleaming  with  varied  tints  through  the  dripping  dew. 
No  covetous  hand  is  permitted  to  pluck  this  subterranean 
vintage.  By  a  detour  through  Elindo  Avenue  one  may 
reach  a  natural  chapel  named  by  a  priest  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  The  walls  are  dark  and  bare,  but  in  the 
vicinity  are  some  fine  stalactites.  We  are  in  an  upper 
ti(  r  of  caverns. 

AVashington  Hall  is  a  locality  toward  which  we  have 
for  some  time  cast  our  longing  eyes,  not  on  account  of 
its  beauty,  but  because  it  is  the  usual  dining-place  for 
parties  taking  the  Long  Route.  It  is  somewhat  circu- 
lar in  shape  and  one  hundred  feet  in  longest  diameter. 
Its  walls  are  smoke-stained,  and  the  tloor  is  strewn 
with  the  relics  of  hundreds  of  dining-parties,  while 
along  its  margin  is  a  rampart  of  broken  bottles  left 
there  by  prohibitionists  and  others,  once  filled  with 
milk,  cold  coffee,  or  other  beverages. 

With  appetites  whetted  by  vigorous  exercise  and 
the  bracing  cave-air  we  fall  to  in  primitive  style  and 
partake  of  the  repast  provided  for  us,  forgetful  of  the 
fact  that  we  are  far  below  the  brave  sunshine  and  the 
verdant  forests,  and  only  mindful  that  we  are  hungry 
mortals.  While  we  dine  the  guides  trim  our  lamps  and 
replenish  them  from  cans  of  oil  that  are  kept  near  by 
for  the  purpose. 

Snowball  Room  comes  next  beyond  Washington 
Hall.  Its  ceiling  is  thickly  dotted  with  hemispherical 
masses  of  snowy  gypsum,  each  ])eing  from  two  to  ten 
inches  in  diameter.  The  effect  is  as  if  a  crowd  of  merry 
school-})oys  had  flung  a  thousand  snowballs  against  the 
wall,  which  stuck  there  as  mementos  of  their  sport. 


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THE  RIVER   ROUTE.  89 

A  charming  side-trip  occasional!}'  taken  is  down 
Marion  Avenue  for  a  mile  or  more,  over  a  clean,  sandy 
floor,  and  under  a  cloudy  ceiling.  It  has  two  branches : 
one  to  the  left,  leading  to  Zoe's  Grotto,  and  the  other 
to  the  right,  through  Paradise,  with  its  fair  and  crystal- 
line flowers,  to  Portia's  Parterre.  Digby's  Dome  has 
no  special  attractions,  l)ut  is  geologically  interesting 
because  it  cuts  through  to  the  ui)per  sandstone. 

Cleaveland's  Cabinet,  which  we  next  enter,  is  a  long 
and  singularly  magnificent  avenue,  named  for  the  late 
Professor  Cleaveland,  of  Bowdoin  College,  the  famous 
mineralogist.  This  treasure-house  of  alabaster  ])rillian(;s 
was  discovered  hy  Stephen  Bishop,  accompanied  b}^ 
Messrs.  Patten  and  Craig.  It  was  first  described  by 
Professor  John  Locke,  ]\r.  D.,  of  Cincinnati,  in  a  com- 
munication to  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Art, 
in  1841,  from  data  furnished  him  by  Mrs.  Anderson,  a 
daughter  of  ]\Ir.  Nicholas  Longworth.  Doctor  Locke 
was  delighted  with  the  gypsum  rosettes  exhibited  for 
his  inspection,  some  of  which,  he  says,  were  a  foot  in 
diameter,  whose  acanthus-like  leaves  roll  elegantly  out- 
ward from  a  central  disk;  and  he  gave  them  the  name 
of  "oulopholites,"  or  curled-leaf-stones. 

We  wander  bewildered  under  symmetrical  archc;  of 
fifty  feet  span,  where  the  fancy  is  charmed  l)y  the 
natural  mimicry  of  every  fiower  that  grows  in  garden, 
forest,  or  prairie,  from  the  nodding  ])ansy  to  the  Haunt- 
ing helianthus.  Vai'ious  n;imes  are  given  to  the  diffei"- 
ent  portions  of  the  general  avenue,  sucli  as  Flora's 
Garden,  ]\lary's  Bower,  Floral  Cross,  L;ist  Ixose  of 
Summer,  Vale  of  I  )iaiii()ii(is.  Marble  Hall,  Diamoud 
Grotto,  Gem  Hall,  and  Cliariotte's  Grotto.  From  any 
one  of  these  take  a  single  cave  flower  and  examine  its 


90  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

queenly  petals,  and  it  will  give  a  good  idea  of  all  the 
rest.  Each  rosette  is  made  up  of  countless  tibrous 
crystals;  each  tiny  crystal  is  in  itself  a  study;  each 
fascicle  of  curved  prisms  is  wonderful,  and  the  whole 
glorious  blossom  is  a  miracle  of  beauty.  Now  multiply 
this  mimic  blossom  from  one  to  a  myriad  as  you  move 
down  the  dazzling  vista  as  if  in  a  dream  of  Elysium,  not 
for  a  few  yards  but  for  two  magnificent  miles,  including 
all  the  crystalline  region  of  which  Cleaveland's  Cabinet 
is  only  a  portion.  Indeed,  these  necessary  names  come 
to  seem  intrusive  and  trivial. 

All  is  virgin  white,  except  here  and  there  a  patch  of 
gray  limestone,  or  a  spot  bronzed  by  metallic  stain, 
or  as  we  purposely  vary  the  lovely  monotony  l)y  burn- 
ing chemical  lights.  We  admire  the  eifective  grouping 
done  by  nature's  skillful  fingers.  Here  is  a  great  cro^^s 
made  by  a  mass  of  stone  rosettes;  while  floral  coro- 
nets, clusters,  wreaths,  and  garlands  embellish  nearly 
every  foot  of  the  ceiling  and  walls.  The  overgrown 
ornaments  actually  crowd  each  other  till  they  fail  on 
the  floor  and  make  the  pathway  sparkle  with  crushed 
and  trodden  jewels.  It  has  been  impossible  to  guard 
all  these  exquisite  formations  from  covetous  fingers, 
and  too  many  have  betn  smoked  hy  lamps  in  careless 
hands.  Yet,  happily,  the  sul)tle  forces  of  nature  are 
at  w^ork  to  mend  what  man  has  marred,  and  to  replace 
by  fresh  creations  what  has  gone  to  the  mineralogist's 
cabinet  or  the  amateur's  Stagere. 

In  secluded  chambers,  seldom  exhibited  to  the 
ordinary  troops  tliat  throng  these  avenues,  may  still  be 
seen  the  trailing  vines,  branching  antlers,  stalks  ol 
celery,  and  pendulous  fringes  like  the  night-blooming 
cereus,    that    were    so    vividly    described    by    Bayard 


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THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  91 

Taylor  and  other  early  visitors.  These  are  especially 
conspicuous  in  Charlotte's  Grotto  (named  for  the  wife 
of  Stephen,  the  guide),  and  which  is  near  the  terminus 
of  Cleaveland's  Cabinet.  Here  are  snowy  plumes  float- 
ing from  rifts  and  crevices.  And  here  and  everywhere 
in  this  matchless  fairyland  are  visible  clumps  of  lilies, 
daisies,  blanched  tulips,  drooping  fuchsias,  spikes  of 
tuberoses,  glorious  chrysanthemums,  wax-leaved  mag- 
nolias— but  why  exhaust  the  botanical  catalogue? 
The  excited  fancy  readily  finds  every  gem  of  the  green- 
house and  parterre  in  this  crystalline  conservatory. 

Suddenly,  hy  a  startling  change,  our  path  climl)s  u{) 
from  these  lovely  regions,  ascending  a  miniature  edi- 
tion of  the  Rocky  ^lountains.  From  the  summit  of 
this  vast  pile  of  rocks  the  visitor  beholds  a  lofty  hall, 
which  it  gives  the  senior  author  of  this  jManual  pleasure 
to  name  Call's  Rotunda,  in  recognition  of  the  enthusi- 
astic and  intelligent  researches  made  ])y  the  junior 
author,  R.  Ellsworth  Call,  Ph.  D.,  who  is  so  rapidly 
making  a  reputation  for  himself  among  speleologists. 
It  is  only  rivaled  in  size  ])y  the  Chief  City,  described 
on  the  ]\Iain  Cave  Route.  The  transverse  diameter  of 
Call's  Rotunda  is  nearly  double  its  largest  component, 
which  is  the  great  avenue  leading  to  the  visitor's  right 
hand.  Tliis  avenue  leads  us  for  about  three  hundred 
yards  to  a  great  mass  of  sandstone  debris,  where  it 
ends.  The  explorer  is  here  not  far  from  the  surface, 
as  is  ])roven  l)y  tliese  sandstone  lilocks.  It  is  said  that 
at  times  in  this  vicinity  the  ruml)lings  of  railroad  trains 
overhead  are  audible. 

Returning  to  tlie  Rotunda  we  look  down  a  deep 
gorge  calh'd  the  Dismal  Hollow,  more  uncanny  far 
than  any  scene  amid  the  Kaatskills,   made    famous  by 


92  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

the  facile  pen  of  Irving.  A  black  opening  in  the  mas- 
sive walls  admits  us  to  Franklin  Avenue,  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  long,  and  leading  to  Serena's  Arbor,  one 
of  the  unfrequented  but  most  romantic  grottoes  of  the 
cavern.  Here  the  walls  are  studded  with  inconceiv- 
ably beautiful  botryoidal  concretions  of  lime  carbonate. 
Massive  onyx  columns  reach  sheer  to  the  sandstone 
roof.  Water  trickles  down  with  perpetual  music  and 
finds  its  way  out  by  crevices  in  the  floor,  through  which 
a  lam})  can  be  lowered  and  a  glimpse  thus  be  had  of 
other  scenes  that  are  rarely  explored. 

Returning  again  to  Call's  Rotunda  and  taking  the 
left-hand  branch,  as  we  are  going,  we  are  led  directly 
to  Croghan's  Hall,  a  room  some  sixty  feet  wide  and 
about  thirty  feet  high.  It  contains  several  large  stalac- 
tites, some  of  them  marred  by  vandals.  The  material 
is  translucent  and  extremely  hard;  being  quite  equal 
to  what  is  commercially  known  as  ^Mexican  onyx.  It 
is  a  hard  earl)onate  of  lime,  such  as  was  described  by 
Pliny  as  alabaster,  and  the  name  of  '"oriental  alabas- 
ter" is  given  to  it  ])y  Dana,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
common  alabaster,  which  is  a  variety  of  gypsum,  or 
the  sulphate  of  lime. 

On  our  right  is  a  ])laek  and  deep  pit,  called  the 
Maelstrom.  It  has  generally  been  described  as  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  deep ;  but  as  measured  by 
Mr.  Ben  Hains  and  the  writer  it  is  only  eighty-eight  feet 
in  depth.  If  it  were  an  open-air  well  of  that  depth 
the  descent  into  it  would  not  be  regarded  as  such  a  very 
remarkable  feat.  But  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  go 
down  into  a  mysterious  chasm,  yawning  amid  the 
rocks,  miles  from  the  entrance  of  this  tremendous 
cavern.     Ilcuce  it  rcallv  took  a  degree  of  courage,  on 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  93 

the  pait  of  ]\Ir.  "W.  C.  Prentice,  son  of  the  poet-editor, 
George  D.  Prentice,  of  LoiiisviUe,  to  go  down  tliither 
in  quest  of  adventures.  The  story  was  told  at  the  time 
in  the  Louisville  papers,  and  was  done  into  spirited 
verse  by  George  Lansing  Taylor,  D.  D.  According 
to  tiiese  accounts  the  young  hero  was  lowered  by  a 
stout  rope,  amid  fearful  and  enchanting  scenes,  that 
had  never  been  beheld  since  creation's  morning  until 
brought  to  view  by  the  faint  rays  of  his  solitary  lamp. 
JMidway  he  encountered  a  waterfall,  spouting  from  the 
wall,  into  whose  shower  he  unavoidably  swung.  At 
last  lie  stood  on  the  solid  rock  at  tlie  bottom  of  the  pit. 
On  returning  to  the  spot  where  he  had  hitched  his  rope 
to  a  stalactite,  he  found  it  disengaged  and  dangling 
beyond  his  reach.  Ingeniously  twisting  the  wires  of 
his  lamp  into  a  long  hook,  he  caught  hold  again,  and 
then  signaled  to  the  guides  to  draw  him  up.  This  they 
did  with  such  zeal  (believe  it  who  may)  as  to  set  the 
cable  on  fire  by  friction,  so  that  one  of  them  had  to 
cravvl  out  on  the  timber  across  which  it  ran  and  pour 
water  on  it  to  extinguish  the  tiame !  These  embellish- 
ments really  brought  the  whole  story  into  discredit. 
But  our  investigations  recently  made  prove  that  Pren- 
tice bought  the  rope  in  Louisville  for  the  purpose,  and 
tluit  he  often  narrated  his  adventures  afterward  as  true. 
The  main  fact  of  his  actually  descending  into  tlio  ^Tael- 
sti'oni  is  MJso  vi'rifi(Hl  by  guides  now  living. 

According  to  the  guides  Matt  and  William,  a  certain 
telegraj)h  operator,  Richard  Babbit  ))y  name,  was 
lowered  by  them  to  the  bottom  of  the  IMaelstrom  during 
Mr.  I*f(>c1()i'"s  iiiniuigriiiciit  of  till'  c.-ive.  .Mr.  V.  J. 
Stevenson,  of  J^oiulon,  in  LSO:?.  in  his  lett(U's  to  his 
mother,  now  in  our  possession,  tells  the  story  at  great 


94  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

length  of  his  own  descent  into  this  terrible  pit,  with  the 
help  of  two  guides,  Nicholas  Bransford  and  Frank  ]\Ion- 
brun,  and  in  the  presence  of  thirty  witnesses.  On  the 
15th  of  ^lay,  1905,  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Einbigler,  of  New 
York  City,  and  ]Mr.  John  ^l.  Nelson,  guide,  were  lowered 
l)y  ropes  held  hy  Levi  Woodson  and  Edward  Hawkins, 
the  rope-length  being  exactly  ninety-seven  feet  eight 
inches.  Tlieir  account,  given  to  me  personally,  varies  ma- 
terially from  the  earlier  descriptions,  and  is  worthy  of 
unquestioned  acceptance.  The  only  way  to  adjust  the 
differences  appears  to  be  by  supposing  many  changes  to 
have  taken  pace  in  the  ^laelstrom  during  the  forty  or 
more  years  that  elapsed  between  the  earlier  and  later 
descents.  The  most  that  the  ordinary  visitor  will 
be  apt  to  do,  or  indeed  would  be  allowed  to  do,  is  to  peer 
over  the  crumbling  brink  and  wonder  that  any  sane 
mortal  should  venture  down  such  an  awful  abyss. 

Croghan's  Hall  is  estimated  by  pacing  to  be  ninety- 
six  hundred  yards  from  the  entrance  to  the  IMannnoth 
Cave,  and  is  usually  spoken  of  as  its  "end."  But  wdio 
can  tell  where  the  real  termination  of  so  vast  a  laby- 
rinth may  be?  At  any  rate  we  have  more  to  see  before 
we  emerge  to  daylight. 

Accordingly,  retracing  our  steps  through  the  crystal- 
line avenues  where])y  we  approached,  we  reach  ]\Iary's 
Vineyard,  descend  again  to  the  level  of  El  Ghor,  enter 
Boone  Avenue,  and  visit  what  is  jn-actically  a  new  por- 
tion of  the  great  cavern,  although  there  are  signs  of  its 
having  been  explored  long  ago  by  unknown  visitors. 

A  well-worn  path  conducts  us  to  a  chasm  down 
whose  slope  we  pick  our  way  to  a  still  lower  level  and 
find  ourselves  in  what  was  described  on  Stephen  Bishop's 
map,  in  1815,  as  ]\Iiriam  Avenue,  so  named  for  a  Jewess, 
a  member  of  the  Gratz  family. 


THE   RIVER   ROUTE  95 

Diverging  to  the  I'iglit,  by  a  narrow  and  winding  way 
that  returns  under  ^Miriam  Avenue,  and  which  we  named 
for  one  of  our  photographers  Pinson's  Pass,  we  i)res- 
ently  emerge  into  a  noble  avenue  named  the  jNIartel 
Avenue,  in  honor  of  the  famous  cave-hunter  of  France, 
Edward  A.  ]\Iartel,  editor  of  La  Nature,  and  for  many 
years  general  secretary  of  La  Societe  de  Speleogie,  the 
only  society  of  its  kind.  The  point  where  we  enter  it  is 
called,  from  its  singular  shape.  Bottle  Hall.  Were  we 
to  go  toward  the  left  in  ]\Iartel  Avenue  we  should  find 
the  way  rugged  and  difficult ;  but  would  be  rewarded  by 
a  glimpse  of  Helictite  Hall,  where  are  found  those  curi- 
ous, twisted,  distorted  stalactites  known  as  "helictites. '' 
Several  small  passages  ])ranch  off  from  this  long  avenue, 
beyond  whieli  it  finally  terminates  in  Galloway's  Dome. 

Tlie  right-hand  portion  of  ]\Iartel  Avenue  soon  brings 
as  to  the  bed  of  a  brook,  nearly  dry  at  the  time  of  our 
visit,  but  that  must  at  times  be  deeply  covered  l)y  swiftly 
flowing  water.  Ripple  marks  of  sand  alternate  with  fiat 
masses  of  jet-black  fiint.  Stranded  here  and  there  are 
visible  knots  of  wood,  roots  of  cornstalks,  and  other 
things  seeming  to  have  been  recently  swept  in  from  the 
surface.  Two  domes  in  the  vicinity  are  named  Nelson's 
Domes,  for  that  intr('])id  explorer,  John  ^l.  Nelson, 
formerly  a  guide,  but  now  residing  at  Glasgow.  Some 
more  early  pioneer  inscril)ed  the  date  "1848"  on  a  rock 
beyond  them.  ]\Ir.  Norman  A.  Parrish,  a  professional 
''steeple-climber,"  came  as  far  as  this  in  1004  atid  w  rote 
me  a  description  of  his  adventures. 

It  was  reserved  for  ^Mr.  B.  F.  Fin])igler,  already 
mentioned  in  these  pages,  to  avail  himself  of  certain 
I'ootliolds  over  a  risky  ledge  of  limestone  ])y  means  of 
which  he  crossed  where  others  had  turned  back.     In  his 


96  MAMMOTH    CAVE 

honor  the  great  overhanging  dome  is  named  "Einbigler 
Dome,"  and  a  larger  one  a  hundred  yards  beyond  was 
named  by  himself,  for  his  sister,  who  visited  it,  the 
"Edna  Dome."  This  dome  differs  from  most  others  by 
growing  broader  above  than  it  is  below,  seeming  really 
to  open  upon  some  cross-cavern. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1907,  Edward  Hawkins  scaled 
the  wall  of  the  pit  underneath  the  Einbigler  Dome; 
being  followed  by  Einbigler  and  Bransford.  At  a  later 
time  Mr.  H.  M.  Pinson  took  in  the  headlight  of  an 
automobile,  which  was  still  there  on  the  18th  of  June, 
when  I  visited  the  locality  with  William  Bransford  and 
Frank  Barry,  guides. 

Scaling  a  wall  at  the  end  of  Hawkins  Way,  we  found 
ourselves  on  the  level  floor  of  a  dome  sixty  feet  in 
diameter  and  perhaps  two  hundred  feet  high.  A  lofty 
gateway  opens  from  it  into  another  dome  of  equal 
dimensions,  and  through  similar  arches  we  visit  in  suc- 
cession five  vast  domes  arranged  as  a  sigmoidal  group. 
A  high  window  from  the  fifth  dome  looks  into  an  ir- 
regular room,  where  a  downfall  of  rocks  l)locks  further 
progress.  In  this  fifth  dome  also  a  waterfall  leaps  from 
the  apex  to  the  floor,  where  it  vanishes  down  a  chasm. 
The  majestic  walls  of  all  the  domes  rise  in  horizontal 
tiers,  each  tier  being  about  ten  feet  in  thickness  and 
fringed  by  beautiful  stalactites.  This  mighty  masonry 
ascends  in  narrowing  circles  till  the  searchlight  barely 
enables  us  to  descry  the  oval  white  tablet  forming  the 
apex,  girt  by  onyx  pendants.  Vertically  the  walls  are 
richly  corrugated  from  top  to  bottom.  The  entire  series 
of  five  united  domes  exceeds  four  times  the  magnitude 
of  Gorin's  Dome.  Ages  untold  were  required  for  the 
chemical  and  mechanical  action  whereby  this  surprising 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE.  97 

subterranean  cathedral  was  carved  in  silence  broken  only 
by  the  wild,  pattering  waterfall  or  the  heavier  cataract. 

Let  me  anew  express  my  personal  obligation  to  the 
Mammoth  Cave  management  for  having  marked  their 
appreciation  of  my  long-continued  and  enthusiastic 
interest  in  their  wonderful  cavern  l)y  naming,  with  the 
approval  of  the  discoverer  and  the  guides,  this  remark- 
a])le  group  of  domes,  "Ilovey's  Cathedral." 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  Kaemper  and 
Bishop  advanced  beyond  what  has  just  been  described, 
and  found  two  more  domes,  to  one  of  which  Kaemper 
gave  the  name  of  a  German  lady,  calling  it  "Gerta's 
Grotto,"  while  the  other  we  have  named  "Creighton's 
Dome,"  for  an  early  and  otherwise  unknown  explorer, 
whose  footprints  were  found  here,  and  who  carved  his 
name  on  the  rocks  near  by. 

There  is  no  way  out  other  tl:an  that  by  which  we 
have  come  in.  Hence  we  retrace  our  steps  through 
Martel  and  Boone  Avenues,  pause  to  refresh  ourselves 
at  Hebe's  Spring,  traverse  El  Ghor,  Silliman's  Avenue, 
cross  Echo  River  again  by  boat,  and  the  River  Styx  by 
the  natural  bridge. 

But  before  ascending  to  the  surface  let  us  make  a 
special  trip  to  the  ^Mammoth  Dome,  which  is  as  won- 
derful a  place  as  any  other  in  all  this  marvelous  region 
of  silence  and  eternal  night.*  In  order  to  do  this  we 
enter  Sparks'  Avenue,  named  for  INIr.  C.  A.  Sparks,  of 
New  York  City.  This  avenue  begins  with  Bandit  ITall, 
located  at  the  foot  of  the  (^orkscrcw.  Around  us  tlie 
immense  rocks  are  tossed  in  the  wildest  confusion. 
But    the    avenue    itself    is    made    easy    going    by    the 

*The  Mammoth  Dome  is  now  included  in  Route  I. 


98  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

removal  of  ol)struc'tion.s  and  by  the  excavation  of 
trenches,  where  otherwise  we  should  have  to  stoop. 
Branches  from  it  are  known  as  Briggs'  Avenue  and 
Sylvan  Avenue,  the  latter  u-ading  to  Clarissa's  Dome, 
where  are  exhibited  the  so-called  "petritied  saw-logs," 
which  are  merely  prostrated  stalactites. 

"When  we  first  visited  the  Mammoth  Dome,  in  1878, 
we  were  assured  that  nobody  else  had  ]:)een  there  for 
seven  years.  Tom  Lee  was  our  guide,  and  the  account 
of  our  adventures  appeared  in  Seribner's  Monthly  ]\Iaga- 
zine  for  October,  1880.  It  is  now  reproduced  for  the 
reader,  with  modifications  made  by  consulting  notes  taken 
at  the  time,  as  well  as  on  subsequent  visits. 

Barton,  my  artist,  was  fascinated  with  drawing  the 
"Corkscrew" — meaning  by  this  ambiguous  term  the 
exit  from  River  Hall  bearing  that  suggestive  name. 
Hence  Tom  and  I  went  alone  through  Sparks'  Avenue 
till  we  emerged  on  a  ledge  thirty  feet  long  and  ten  feet 
wide,  where  we  were  suddenly  confronted  by  a  realm 
of  empty  darkness.  Our  four  lard-oil  lamps  were 
swung  in  vain  aloft  and  over  the  edge  of  the  terrace. 
They  revealed  neither  fioor,  wall,  or  roof  of  that  sol- 
emn domain.  Astonished,  I  acted  on  a  momentary 
impulse  and  told  Tom  to  go  back  for  Barton,  more 
lamps,  and  fireworks.  It  was  not  until  Tom's  glim- 
mering light  had  vanished  that  I  realized  what  a 
reckless  thing  had  been  done.  The  solitude  was 
dreadful.  I  sat  for  a  time  on  the  edge  of  the  ter- 
race, amusing  myself  by  throwing  ignited  oil  papers, 
by  means  of  which  I  discovered  the  fioor  far  below 
me,  and  also  brought  to  view  a  rude  ladder,  with 
several  missing  rungs,  and  blackened  by  age  and 
decay.     ]\Iy  sensations  were  overpowering,  and  I  pru- 


MAMMOTH    DOME. 
Ruins  of  Kariuik. 


THE  RIVER  ROUTE  99 

dently  withdrew  to  the  closer  embrace  of  the  narrow 
avenue  and  whiled  the  time  away  by  catching  cave 
crickets,  of  which  there  were  hundreds.  Barton  refused 
to  leave  until  his  sketch  was  done,  and  accordingly 
an  hour  or  more  passed  by  before  he  and  Tom  joined 
me,  bringing  twenty  lamps,  with  plenty  of  red  fire  and 
magnesium. 

Carefully  descending  the  treacherous  ladder  that  no 
foot  had  pressed  for  at  least  seven  years,  we  reached 
the  floor  safely.  We  found  that  it  sloped  down  to  a 
dismal  pool,  into  which  tumbled  a  cataract  higher  than 
Niagara,  though  of  slender  size.  By  burning  chemical 
fires  at  several  points  at  once  we  lighted  up  the  huge 
dome,  and  estimated  its  dimensions  to  be  about  four 
hundred  feet  in  length,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
greatest  width,  and  varying  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  or  more  in  height.  The  walls  were  seen 
to  be  curtained  by  alabaster  drapery,  hanging  in  ver- 
tical folds  that  varied  in  size  from  a  pipestem  to  a  saw- 
log;  and  these  folds  were  decorated  by  heavy  fringes  at 
intervals  of  about  twenty  feet. 

A  huge  gateway  at  the  farther  end  of  the  hall  opens 
into  a  room  so  like  the  ruins  of  Luxor  and  Karnak  that 
we  named  it  the  Egyptian  Temple.  The  floor  here 
is  paved  with  stalagmitic  l)locks,  stained  by  red  and 
black  oxides  into  a  natural  mosaic.  Six  colossal  col- 
umns, eighty  feet  high  l)y  twenty-flve  in  diameter,  stand 
in  a  semi-circle,  flanked  by  pyramidal  towers.  The 
material  of  these  shafts  is  gray  oolite,  fluted  by  deep 
furrows,  with  sliarp  ridges  between,  the  whole  column 
l)eing  veneered  with  yellow  stalagmiti',  rich  as  ,jasi)er, 
and  covered  by  tracery  as  elal)orate  as  Chinese  carv- 
ing.     The  capitals   are   jutting  slabs   of  limestone,   and 


100  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

the  bases  are  garnished  by  mushroom-sliapiMl  stahiii'inites. 
The  largest  of  these  we  named  Caliban's  Cushion. 

AVhile  examining  these  formations  I  noticed  an 
opening  behind  the  third  column  in  the  row,  and 
clambering  down  a  steep  descent  reached  gloomy  cata- 
combs underneath  the  temple  which  have  since  then 
been  more  fully  explored,  but  without  tinding  much  of 
interest.  On  our  way  back  to  the  terrace  we  noticed 
overhead  a  l)lack  opening  which  Tom  assured  me  was 
identical  with  the  Crevice  Pit  in  Little  Bat  Avenue. 
He  also  sliowed  me  the  spot  where  a  rusty  lamp  was 
found  on  the  floor  of  the  Egyptian  Temple,  and  that  I 
afterward  ol)tained  as  a  treasure  for  my  cave  cal)inet. 

The  story  of  the  Crevice  Pit  is  Avell  worth  telling,  as 
originally  told  by  R.  M.  Bird,  M.  D.,  in  18:30,  and 
confirmed  ))y  later  authorities.  It  seems  that  I\Ir. 
Gatewood  convinced  the  owners  of  the  cave,  whose 
agent  he  was,  that  the  richest  deposit  of  nitrous  earth 
would  doubtless  be  found  under  the  Crevice  Pit.  To 
test  this  ^Ir.  Wilkins  took  a  rope  forty-five  feet  long 
and  fastened  a  lamp  to  it,  which  he  then  lowered  into 
the  pit.  The  rope  accidentally  caught  fire,  and  the 
result  was  the  loss  of  the  lamp.  That  was  a  serious 
loss  in  those  days,  for  it  could  not  be  replaced  short  of 
a  trip  to  Lexington.  Accordingly  a  miner  climbed 
down  to  a  shelf  in  the  ugly  black  hole  and  tried  to 
regain  his  lamp  l)y  feeling  around  for  it  w-ith  his  stafiP. 
But  suddenly  the  stick  slipped  from  his  hand  and  went 
rattling  down  the  abyss.  Wilkins  then  offered  a  rew^ard 
of  two  dollars  for  the  recovery  of  the  lamp.  A  sprightly 
young  negro,  named  Little  Dave,  volunteered  to  be  let 
down,  as  a  sort  of  animated  plummet,  to  sound  the 
depth  of  the  pit.     The  story  he  told  on  being  drawn  up 


THE  RIVER   ROUTE.  101 

again  was  so  wonderful  that  nobody  believed  him. 
He  told  of  a  spacious,  splendid  dome,  bigger  than 
the  Rotunda,  with  tall  columns  and  other  magnificent 
features,  now  seen  by  every  visitor  to  the  IMammoth 
Dome.  But  Little  Dave's  reward,  besides  the  promised 
two  dollars,  was  the  reputation  of  ])eing  either  crazy  or 
the  champion  liar  of  Kentucky. 

Several  futile  attempts  have  been  made  to  ascer- 
tain the  true  depth  of  the  Crevice  Pit.  Edmund  C. 
Lee,  in  1885,  tied  a  stone  to  a  string  and  "struck  bot- 
tom at  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet";  and  as  Lee  was 
a  civil  engineer  his  statement  was  for  years  quoted 
without  dispute.  In  the  summer  of  189G,  Hovey  and 
Call  ascertained  its  true  depth.  It  was  not  an  easy 
task,  owing  to  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  opening. 
First  we  lowered  a  light  plummet,  which  lodged  after 
going  down  about  thirty  feet.  But  the  weight  of  the 
cord  kept  pulling  itself  out  of  hand  till  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  had  gone  down,  when  the  trick  was  sus- 
pected. Probably  Mr.  Lee  was  deceived  in  this  way, 
as  many  another  cave  explorer  has  been.  Thus  Eldon 
Hole,  in  Derbyshire  Peak,  in  England,  was  measured 
as  being  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  when  its  real 
depth  was  only  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  feet. 

Then  attaching  a  lighted  Iniiip  to  a  cord,  Doctor  all 
lowered  it,  while  I  stood  on  the  opposite  edge  and 
watched  it  go  down,  calling  out  whenever  it  lodged,  so 
that  it  might  be  pulled  off  and  started  down  again. 
Leaving  the  lamj)  there,  to  be  located  afterward  l)y 
going  around  through  Sparks'  Avenue  to  the  ^Mam- 
moth  Dome,  we  next  lowered  a  heavy  stone  by  a  cord, 
making  allowance  for  stretching.  The  cord  was  then 
measured  by  a  steel  tape.     The  average  result  of  our 


102  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

several  measurements  fixed  the  distance  from  the  brink 
of  the  Crevice  Pit  to  the  foot  of  the  ladder  in  the  ]\lam- 
moth  Dome  as  being  eighty-eight  feet.  That  point, 
however,  is  not  the  bottom  of  the  dome.  Doctor  Call 
afterward  measured  the  remaining  distance,  and  found  it 
to  be  thirty-one  feet,  which  must  be  added  to  the  previ- 
ous figure,  making  the  distance  one  hundred  and  nine- 
teen feet.  But  we  must  not  forget  to  add  the  space 
excavated  by  the  top  of  the  dome  aljove  the  mouth  of 
the  Crevice  Pit,  and  which  is  certainly  as  much  as 
thirty  feet.  Putting  all  this  together,  we  are  safe  in 
asserting  that  the  distance  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est point  in  the  ]\lammoth  Dome  exceeds  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet.  This  was  afterward  confirmed  by  my 
method  of  balloon  measurement. 

Now  our  steps  are  turned  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
cave.  Back  we  go,  through  Sparks'  Avenue  to  Bandit 
Hall.  Thence  we  climb  up  and  up  through  the  Cork- 
screw till  fairly  bewildered  with  its  windings.  It  is 
a  place  to  test  our  latent  powers  of  orientation — that 
marvelous  gift  that  guides  the  homing  pigeons  in  their 
vast  aerial  flights.  Professor  Brewer  and  the  writer 
agreed  while  amid  these  mazes,  and  also  in  other  parts 
of  the  great  cavern,  that  whenever  either  said  to  the 
other,  "Point  east,"  the  command  should  be  instantly 
obeyed.  A  moment's  pause  for  reflection  would  spoil 
it  all.  But  instantaneous  ol)edience  was,  in  frequent 
instances,  rewarded  hy  the  pointing  of  the  finger 
toward  the  sunrise.  Sometimes  we  would  vary  the 
command  l)y  bidding  each  other  to  point  toward  the 
north,  and  with  equally  satisfactory  results,  provided 
w'e  could  trust  instinct  instead  of  reason. 


THE  RIVER   ROUTE.  103 

Cave  animals,  hundreds  of  them,  find  their  way 
about  without  guide,  map,  lamplight,  and  even  without 
eyes.  Dogs  lost  in  the  cave  invariably  find  their  way 
out.  The  writer  gave  a  story  of  canine  adventure  in 
St.  Nicholas  ^lagazine  for  April,  1882,  the  main  facts 
of  which  were  as  follows :  Jack,  the  veteran  house-dog, 
was  a  cautious  brute,  who  went  with  us  to  the  Iron 
Gate,  peered  between  the  bars,  and  then  trotted  reso- 
lutely back  to  the  hotel.  Brigham,  his  frisky  comrade, 
pushed  ahead  and  explored  on  his  own  account.  One 
day  he  ran  off  after  a  cave  rat,  and  we  had  to  leave, 
him  to  his  fate.  After  two  days  he  and  Jack  were 
found  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Iron  Gate,  exchanging 
experiences.  "We  tracked  the  path  taken  by  the  run- 
away and  found  that  he  had  crossed  streams,  floundered 
tiirough  mud-holes,  climbed  cliffs,  and  apparently  gone 
up  through  the  Corkscrew  to  the  Iron  Gate,  where  we 
were  glad  to  greet  him  as  a  hero.  He  may  have  been 
aided  by  scenting  our  trail,  but  we  gave  him  credit  for 
a  remarkable  gift  of  "orientation." 

lias  the  earth  lungs?  And  does  it  breathe?  It  cer- 
tainly seems  so  to  us  as  we  finally  emerge  from  the 
mouth  of  the  cavern.  "Antros, "  the  Greek  name  for 
cave,  simply  means  "a  l)reatliing  place,"  as  if  througii 
eaves,  as  nostrils,  the  eartli  inlwiled  ;ind  exlialed  the 
vital  air.  Down  in  the  dark  recesses  where  we  have 
been  it  was  almost  possible  to  hear  the  beating  of 
Nature's  heart.  Tlie  long  avenut'S  are  the  superb 
arteries  through  which  flows  hei-  life,  llow  easy  our 
own  respiration  has  been  amid  the  pure,  exhilarating 
air  that  comes  oxygenated  from  the  central  reservoirs 
of  the  globe.  As  we  climl)  upward  to  the  garish  light 
of  day  we  feel  the  loss  of  those  strong  and   invigor- 


104  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

ating  atmospheric  influences.  We  almost  dread  the 
humidity,  the  heavy  odors,  the  suffocating  exhalations 
of  the  weeds,  trees,  grasses,  and  flowers.  Every  visitor 
is  surprised  at  what  he  experiences,  jDarticularly  on 
emerging  from  the  River  Route,  where  for  nine  hours 
he  has  been  stimulated  by  the  oxygenated  air.  Linger- 
ing awhile  near  the  entrance  to  get  used  to  the  yellow 
sunlight,  or  the  silvery  light  of  the  moon,  we  also  grow 
accustomed  to  tlie  oppressive  atmosphere  that  sweeps 
through  the  Kentucky  woods,  and  which  would  ordi- 
narily be  descrilied  as  the  purest  country  air. 

Finally,  breaking  away  from  the  fascination  of  the 
wide  and  forever  open  mouth  of  the  great  cavern,  that 
seems  to  be  tacitly  inviting  us  to  renew  our  interior 
explorations,  we  cross  the  rocky  platform,  the  rural 
road,  the  vineclad  valley,  and  climb  the  forest  path- 
way to  the  crest  of  the  bluff. 


THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CAVERN. 
ITS  FAUNA  AND  FLORA 
^» 

QUITE  thirty  years  passed  away  after  the  discovery 
of  ^iaiuinoth  Cave  l)efore  the  adventurous  spirit  of 
Stephen  Bishop  devised  a  rude  way  to  cross  the 
Bottondess  Pit.  Soon  after  the  rivers  were  discovered, 
which  followed  immediately  after  this  daring  adventure, 
the  earliest  specimens  of  crayfish  and  blind-fish  were 
also  found.  Previous  to  this  time  occasional  mention 
was  made  of  the  "cave  crickets"  and  the  "cave  rats," 
which  the  miners  and  early  visitors  imagined  to  be  the 
common  Norway  or  domestic  rat.    That  was  all. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  blind-fish,  the  earliest  descriptions  of  animals  from 
the  Mammoth  Cave  were  by  Europeans.  All  the 
American  visitors  appear  to  have  had  little  regard  for 
anything  except  the  scenic  features  of  the  cavern.  But 
in  1844  there  were  described  two  blind  beetles,  one 
blind  spider,  and  the  blind  crayfish,  all  in  a  German 
scientific  publication,  and  by  Doctor  T.  Tellkampf.  Two 
years  previously,  1842,  Doctor  DeKay  had  described  in 
the  Natural  History  of  New  York  tlie  blind-fish  under 
tlie  name  of  Aiublyopsis  spelceus,  making  the  ^Mammoth 
Cave  form,  which  was  then  alone  known,  the  type  of 
the  genus.  Doctor  Jeffries  Wyman  published  a  minute 
description  of  the  Anihhjopsis  .^pchnis,  with  interesting 
anatomical  details,  in  1843.  (See  Vol.  xi.v,  American 
Journal  of  Science  and  Art,  page  04.)  But  it  yet 
remained  for  Doctor  Tellkaini)f  to  still  further  descril)e 
and  illustrate  this  species,  his  woi-k  ai)i)earing  in  the 
New  York  Journal  of  Medicine,  July,  1845,  with  plates 

(105) 


106  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

sliowing  the  entire  fish  and  its  anatomy,  constituting 
the  first  known  illustrations  of  this  form. 

It  was,  however,  not  until  1871  that  very  much 
became  known  about  the  various  forms  of  life  found  in 
this  cave.  In  the  previous  year  Doctor  A.  S.  Packard 
and  Professor  F.  W.  Putnam  had  made  extensive  col- 
lections and  described  them,  their  work  appearing  in 
the  American  Naturalist  in  1871,  with  excellent  descrip- 
tions and  fine  illustrations.  Later,  two  days'  active 
collecting  was  done  in  the  cavern  by  ]\Ir.  H.  G. 
Hubbard,  who  published  his  results  in  the  American 
Entomologist,  Vol.  iir,  in  1880.  Numerous  shorter 
papers  have  appeared,  in  all  about  one  hundred,  in 
various  languages,  in  scientific  journals  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  learned  societies,  and  these  all  add  a  little 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  life  forms  in  the  cavern. 

The  most  extensive  treatise  on  the  animals  of  this 
cave  is  to  be  found  in  the  IMemoirs  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  and  is  a  memoir  on  Cave  Animals 
of  North  America,  by  Doctor  A.  S.  Packard,  junior,  pub- 
lished in  1889.  In  this  work  will  be  found  all  accessible 
information  relating  to  the  cavern  fauna  up  to  the  time 
of  its  pu])lication ;  since  then,  however,  extensive  col- 
lections made  by  the  writer  have  revealed  a  number  of 
new  forms  which  have  been  elsewhere  descril^ed  and 
figured.* 

The  facts  connected  with  these  interesting  animals 
are  so  scattered  that  it  has  ])een  deemed  of  considera- 
ble interesc  to  many  students  to  indicate  the  nature  of 
the  forms  and  the  localities  where  they  are  likely  to  be 


*See  the  American  Naturalist,  Vol.  xxxi,  pp.  357-392,  pis.  x,  xi,  May,  1897; 
"Some  Notes  on  the  Fauna  and  Flora  of  Mammoth  Cave,"  by  R.  Ellsworth 
Call;  also  "  Notes  on  the  Flora  of  Mammoth  Cave,"  by  R.  Ellsworth  Call 
Journal  Cincinnati  Society  Natural  History,  1897,  Vol.  xix,  pp.  79,  80. 


^^^^^^m^m^ 


SCOTERPEvS  COPEI   (Packard). 
Named  by  Packard  for  Dr.  E.  D.  Cope,  the  eminent  naturalist. 

A.  Half  the  natural  size. 

B.  Enlarged   view  of   head.     Eyeless.     Showing  the  tactile, 
hairs  on  the  two  anterior  segments. 


PHALANGES  ARMATA  (Tellkampf). 
A  typical,  blind,  and  very  ancient  cave  spider,  of  the  group 
belonging  to  the  Harvestman,  or  "granddaddy  longlegs."  The 
single  eye  is  abortal.  Pigment  only  remains.  The  microscope 
shows  that  the  nerve  extending  from  it  to  the  central  ganglia 
has  disappeared. 


THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CAVERN.  107 

seen  by  the  visitor.  In  doing  so  there  has  been  no 
attempt  at  systematic  chissifieatiou  beyond  indicating 
the  greater  zoological  groups  to  which  tlie  forms  belong. 
If  the  visitor  desires  to  collect,  permission  being 
secured  from  the  management  beforehand,  it  will  1)0 
well  to  remember  that  the  drier  portions  of  the  cave 
will  afford  him  little  or  nothing  save  lost  time ;  ])ut  in 
the  damper  portions  of  his  several  trips  he  may  hope  to 
have  abundant  success.  Thus,  to  instance  a  few  local- 
ities, he  will  prol)a])ly  find  specimens  of  three  kinds  ot: 
flies  in  and  around  the  decaying  specimens  of  Coprinus, 
which  he  will  find  at  various  places  along  the  River 
Route.  With  them,  also,  will  be  found  occasional 
specimens  of  the  small  brown  beetle,  Adclops.  In  the 
Way  to  Pits  and  Domes,  near  Richardson's  Spring,  he 
will  find  historic  collecting  ground,  for  this  is  one  of 
Packard's  richest  localities.  Under  the  damp  flat 
stones  he  will  here  take  Tellkampf's  small  white  spider, 
and  that  interesting  little  thysanurid,  Campodea  cookei, 
described  from  this  place  liy  Packard.  Scurrying  over 
the  muddy  walk  or  hiding  under  the  flat  stones  go  a 
num])er  of  ])rown  beetles,  to  which  has  been  given  the 
name  of  A)wphthahuu.9.  A  little  farther  on  and  under 
the  old  timbers  which  are  here  to  be  seen  will  be 
secured  white  myriapods,  belonging  to  Scotcrpcs.  If 
the  characteristics  of  the  locality  ])e  carefully  noted, 
the  visitor  may  ])e  sure  that  any  similar  locality  will 
afford  him  other  specimens  of  the  same  or  other  kinds. 
At  the  end  of  Gratz  Avenue  and  in  Flint  Dome, 
should  the  visitor  go  to  that  portion  of  the  cavern,  in 
the  waters  of  Shaler's  Brook  and  in  the  ])ools  in  the 
midst  of  the  dome,  he  will    liud   myriads  of  the  small 


108  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

wl)it('  crustacean,  Ccccidotea  slyijia;  occasional  speci- 
mens may  also  be  taken  in  Richardson's  Spring. 

The  larger  crustacean,  Gamharus  pellucidus,  can  be 
had  only  in  the  Echo  and  connected  rivers,  though  the 
writer  collected  two  specimens  in  Flint  Dome,  until 
then  not  known  to  have  any  connection  with  the  rivers 
themselves.  Of  course  Echo  River  will  be,  with  its 
pools,  the  only  place  where  may  be  found  the  blind- 
fish.  And  neither  of  these  last  named  forms  will  prove 
to  be  abundant.  They  are  to  be  collected  with  great 
difficulty,  even  though  they  may  commonly  l)e  seen  by 
the  visitor  as  he  wends  his  way  along  the  rivers,  on 
both  "ides  thereof.  Occasional  specimens  are  stranded 
and  left  in  pools  which  become  quite  dry  on  the  reces- 
sion of  the  waters  after  a  rise.  Roaring  River,  never 
visited  by  the  tourist,  which  is  a  succession  of  muddy 
pools  for  a  long  distance,  is  a  famous  place  to  collect 
them,  l)ut  for  these  the  visitor  must  arrange  with  the 
management. 

It  is  not  proposed  in  this  place  to  review  the  entire 
known  fauna  of  the  cave  nor  to  list,  with  descriptions, 
all  of  its  plants.  The  casual  visitor  will  have  little  use 
for  either,  because,  unless  he  is  a  naturalist,  and  some- 
what acquainted  with  the  hal)its  of  the  animals  and 
plants,  he  will  search  long  in  vain ;  when  he  does  find 
their  favorite  haunts,  with  few  exceptions  he  will  dis- 
cover that  they  are  rare. 

The  following  list  is  complete  up  to  the  present  time, 
and  contains  all  the  species  which  are  certainly  known 
in  the  cave: 


THE  "BLIND  BEETLE." 
Anophthalmus  menetresii  (Motsch). 

A.  Magnified  six  times,  showing  tactile  hairs  on  thorax,  legs 
and  antennae.     Found  in  the  Labyrinth,  Washington  Hall,  etc. 

B.  The  antenna  of  Anophthalmus  magnified  to  show  more 
plainly  the  peculiar  development  of  compensatory  sensitive  tactile 
hairs. 


BLIND  BEETLE. 
Anophthalmus. 
Their  life  history  unknown, 
except  that  their  eggs  are  laid 
in  the  sand  in  the  avenue  from 
Lovers'  Leap  to  Lee's  Cisterns, 
near  the  pool  just  beyond 
Gatewood's  Dining  Table. 


A  SCAVENGER  BEETLE. 

Called  "  Blind,"  hut  it  has 
eyes,  and  bright  ones.  Found 
abundantly  on  and  around 
chicken  bones,  etc.,  in  Wash- 
ington Hall  and  elsewhere. 
Drawn  fourteen  times  the  size 
of  the  original. 


THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CAVERN,  109 

INFUSORIA. 

Chilomonas  emarginata  Ehrenberg.     Eiver  Styx. 
Chilodon  cucullulus  Ehreiiberg.     Eiver  Styx. 
Monas  kolpoda  (?).     Serena's  Bower. 
Monas  socialis   (?).     Serena's  Bower. 

VERMES. 

Dendrocselum  percaecum  Packard.  Shaler's  Brook;  Eich- 
ardson's  Spring. 

Lumbricus  sp.     Banks  of  Echo  Eiver. 

CRUSTACEA. 

Canthocamptus  cavernarum  Packard.  "Wandering  Willie's 
Spring. 

Ca^cidotea  stygia  Packard.     Flint  Dome;   Shaler's  Brook. 
Crangonyx  vitreus  Cope.     Flint  Dome;   Eichardson's  Sjjring. 
Crangonyx  sp.     Shaler's  Brook. 
Cambarus  pellucidus  Tellkampf.     Echo  Eiver;  Flint  Dome. 

ARACHNIDA. 

La?laps  cavernieola  Packard.     Labyrinth. 

Gamasus  troglodytes  Packard.     Locality  unknown. 

Belba  bulbipedatus  Packard.     Labyrinth. 

Chthonius  packardii  Hagen.     Mammoth  Dome;  Labyrinth. 

Phalangodes  armata  Tellkampf.  Bottomless  Pit;  Gorin's 
Dome;  Labyrinth;  Mary's  Vineyard;  Ilovey's  Eamble. 

Anthrobia  mammouthia  Tellkampf.  Labyrinth;  Bottom- 
less Pit. 

Ca'lotes  juvenilis  Keyserling.     Locality  unknown. 

Liocranoides  unicolor  Keyserling.     Labyrinth. 

Linopodes  mammouthia  Banks.     Labyrinth. 

Ehagidia  cavicola  Banks.    Labyrinth. 

Willibaldia  ineerta  Emerton.     Labyrinth. 

Phanetta  subterranea   Emerton.     Labyrinth. 

IXSECTA. 

Dorypteryx  (?)  hageni  Banks.     Darnall's  Way. 
Smynthurus  mammouthia  Banks.     Darnall  's  Way, 
Entomobrya  cavicola  Banks.     Darnall's  Way. 
Campodea  cookei  Packard.     All  moist  stations  under  stones, 
especially  in  Eichardson's  Sjiring  region;  Hovey's  Eamble. 


110  MAMMOTH    CA\^. 

Machilis  caveruicola  Tellkampf.     Labyrintli. 

Hadena'cus  subterraneus   Scudder.     Everywhere,  nearly. 

Elipsoc'us  sp. 

Adelops  hirtus  Tellkampf,  Numerous  stations;  especially 
abundant  in  Washington  Ilall. 

Auophthalnnis  tellkampfii  Erichson.     All  moist  stations. 

Anophthalmus  menetresii  ]\Iotseh.  Labyrinth;  Washing- 
ton Ilall. 

Anophthalmus  iuterstitialis  Hubbard.     Washington  Ilall. 

Anophthalmus  striatus  Motsch.     Labyrinth. 

Anophthalmus  audax  Horn.     Washington  Hall. 

Sciara  inconstans  Fitch.     Mammoth  Dome. 

Limosina  stygia  Coquillett.     Mammoth  Dome. 

Phora  rufix^es  Meig.  Labyrinth;  Gorin's  Dome;  Hovey's 
Eanible. 

Scoterpes  copei  Packard.  Labyrinth;  Bottomless  Pit;  Mary's 
Vineyard;  Kiver  Hall. 

VERTEBRATA. 

Neotoma  magister  Baird.  Everywhere;  especially  abun- 
dant in  Washington  Hall  near  lunching  station. 

Peromyscus  leucopus  Kafinesque.     Eotunda. 

Vespertilio  lucifugus  LeConte.  Eotunda;  Little  Bat  Ave- 
nue; Olive's  Bower. 

Vesperugo  caroliueusis  Geoff.  St.  Hil.     Audubon 's  Avenue. 

Spelerpes  lougieaudus   Green.     Mouth  of  Cave;   Flint  Dome. 

Amblyopsis  spela^us  DeKay.     Echo  Eiver;   Soaring  Eiver. 

Tyjihlichthys  subterraneus  Girard.     Echo  Eiver. 

Chologaster  agassizii  Putnam.     Echo  Eiver. 

MOLLUSCA. 
Carychium  stygium  Call.     Mammoth  Dome. 

Til  is  is  not  au  extensive  list  of  animals  for  so  large 
a  cavern,  but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  collection  is 
very  difficult  under  the  conditions  which  prevail  in  the 
cave.  The  list,  such  as  it  is,  results  from  the  occasional 
work  of  numerous  collectors ;  an  exhaustive  and  complete 
study  of  the  fauna  has  yet  to  be  instituted. 


THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CAVERN.  Ill 

PLANTyE, 

Very  much  loss  is  known  of  the  plants  of  the  cave 
than  of  its  animals.  Only  the  most  cursory  collections 
have  yet  l)een  made,  though  the  writer  has  sought  to 
make  complete  the  collections  of  microscopic  forms. 
Many  of  those  collected  were  indeterminate,  and  others 
are  yet  undescribed.  This  will,  in  a  measure,  account 
for  the  meagre  list. 

It  should  be  remarked  in  passing  that  with  but  two 
or  three  exceptions  the  forms  found  are  all  such  as 
occur  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  all  are  fungi  or 
related  groups.  The  list  now  following  contains  all 
certainly  known  at  this  time  : 

Coprinus  micaeeus  Bull.  River  Hall  ouly.  Groups  of  this 
toad-stool  are  sometimes  fouud  along  Eiver  Hall,  uear  the  boat 
landing,  and  at  the  Cascades,  near  the  Elver  Styx. 

Fomes  applanatus  Pers.     Labyrinth. 

Ehizomorpha  molinaris.  Abundant  on  old  timbers  iu 
Mammoth  Dome.  Probably,  like  its  foreign  relatives,  this  form 
will  be  found  to  be  phos[ihoroseent. 

Microascus  longirostis  Zukal.     Washington  Hall. 

Zasmidium  cellare  Ft.  Corkscrew,  at  top,  on  old  barrel 
head. 

Mucor  mucedo  Linn.  Labyrinth;  Mary's  Vineyard;  Eiver 
Hall. 

Gj-mnoascus  setosus  Eidam.     Washington  Hall. 

Si)orotrichum  densum  Link.     On  dead  crickets. 

Si)orotrichum  flavissimum  Link.     Washington  Hall. 

Laboulbcnia  subtcrranea.     On  Anophthalmus. 

Cojmansia  sp.     Washington  Hall. 

Papulospora  sji.     Washington  Hall. 

Bouderia  s]).     Washington  Hall. 

The  great  numlx'r  of  forms  from  Washington  Hail 
is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  in  that  locality  may 
be  found  a  great  mass  of  refuse   from  dining  parties; 


112  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

on  the  rejectamenta  of  lunches  many  varieties  of  minute 
fungi  occur,  though  the  spores  are  quite  likely  intro- 
duced by  visitors  and  in  or  with  the  food.  A  single 
very  small  but  beautiful  Peziza  occurs  on  the  timbers 
in  Mammoth  Dome,  but  is  certainly  introduced  from 
without.  The  same  fact  is  true  of  amorphous  forms  of 
Fomcs  applanatus  taken  from  bridge  timbers  in  the 
Labyrinth. 


BLIND  ANIMALS:  THEIR  ENVIRONMENT 
AND  DEVOLUTION. 

SINCE  Doctor  Call  prepared  his  admirable  chapter 
on  Cavern  Fauna  and  Flora  a  few  early  accounts 
have  come  to  light,  and  some  recent  additions  have 
been  made  to  the  literature  on  the  subject,  especially  con- 
cerning its  bearing  on  the  theory  of  evolution. 

The  very  first  account  ever  published  about  the 
eyeless  fish  was  by  Rev.  Robert  Davidson,  D.  D.,  Presi- 
dent of  Transylvania  University,  in  a  small  volume 
from  the  press  of  A.  T.  Skillman,  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
1840,  entitled,  "An  Excursion  to  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
and  the  Barrens  of  Kentucky."  Stephen  Bishop  had 
just  crossed  the  Bottomless  Pit  and  discovered  what  was 
then  styled  simply  "The  River,"  in  whose  sullen  waters 
were  found  very  remarkable  "white  fish  without  eyes, 
but  with  their  other  senses  so  acute  that  the  slightest 
touch  of  the  water  overhead  was  sufficient  to  alarm  them, 
and  make  them  dart  off  like  lightning."  In  1842  W.  T. 
Craige  gave  a  single  specimen  of  the  blind  fish  to  the 
Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences;  and  in  that 
same  year  DeKay  described  it  in  his  volume  on  Re])tiles 
and  Fishes  (p.  187)  in  the  Natural  History  of  New  York. 
He  named  it  the  Amhhjopsis  spchius,  meaning  weak- 
eyed  cave  dweller.  This  was  soon  followed  by  articles 
by  Wyman,  Thompson,  and  Tellkampf.  TuphVwldliys 
subterranams  was  first  described  by  Girard  in  LSf)!);  the 
Chologaster  agassizii  was  described  and  named  l)y  Put- 
nam; and  the  TroglicMhys  rose((i  was  thus  named  by 
Eigenmann.  These  four  genera:  Amblyopsis,  Typhlich- 
tkys,  Chologaster,  and  TrogUchthys,  are  grouped  as  a 
family,  under  the  name  of  Amhlyopsidoe,  and  belong  to 

(113) 


114  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

tlie  order  of  Ha  pi  am  I.  (E.  D.  Cope,  Proceedings  of 
A.  A.  A.  S.,  Indianapolis,  1872,  pp.  328,  333.) 

These,  and  certain  other  true  subterranean  fauna, 
may  be  regarded  as  mainly  of  Pleistocene  origin ;  while 
a  few  are  supposed  to  be  remnants  of  Tertiary,  or  pos- 
sibly of  Cretaceous  life. 

Their  strongly  marked  divergence  from  similar 
creatures  found  in  open  waters  convinced  the  elder 
Agassiz  that  they  were  "specially  created  for  the  limits 
within  which  they  dwell."  This  question  will  receive 
further  attention  later  on. 

Insignificant  as  cave  animals  may  seem  to  the  care- 
less eye,  these  lowly  minnows,  crawfish,  worms,  flies,  fleas, 
spiders,  crickets,  and  beeth^s  have  been  microscopically 
examined,  dissected  to  their  minutest  anatomy,  and 
laborious  treatises  written  about  them,  bristling  with 
words  l)ig  enough  to  de-^cribc  whales,  mastodons,  and 
manuuoths.  Indeed  tluy  have  a  voluminous  bibliogra- 
phy, including  contri))utions  by  Agassiz,  Banta,  Blatch- 
ley,  Chilton,  Cole,  Cope,  Collet,  Cox,  Dubois,  Eigenmann, 
Forbes,  Garman,  Girard,  Gunther,  Ilamann,  Hay, 
Holmes,  Hul)l^ard,  Jordan,  Lankester,  Nagel,  Packard, 
Parker,  Payne,  Putnam,  Richardson,  Semper,  Vire, 
Yerkes,  and  others,  besides  the  authors  of  this  Manual. 

The  average  size  of  a  full-grown  Aniblyopsis  spcla'us, 
the  most  famous  of  the  blind-fish,  is  only  about  three 
and  a  half  inches.  Rarely  it  is  found  longer,  and  the 
]\Iammotli  Cave  guides  tell  us  of  specimens  measuring 
eight  inches.  The  writer  never  saw  one  that  exceeded 
five  inches  in  length.  He  is  inclined  to  think  that  stray 
visitors  from  the  surface  waters  have  been  sometimes 
mistaken  for  the  true  Amhhjopsis.  The  blind-fish  are 
found  in  pools,  or  the  rills  between  the  pools,  and  often 


BLIND    ANIMALS,  115 

in  deep  wells  in  the  vicinity  of  caves.  They  are  dignified 
denizens  of  the  darkness,  often  lying  quietly  on  the 
muddy  bottom  of  the  waters,  floating  lazily  on  the 
surface,  or  slowly  swimming  along  by  the  aid  of  their 
pectoral  fins,  though  bringing  the  tail  into  action  when 
disturbed,  and  darting  rapidly  away. 

What  do  cave  creatures  live  upon?  The  question 
of  food  supply  is  always  of  prime  importance.  An 
animal  with  plenty  to  eat  is  apt  to  grow  and  unfold 
its  organic  life,  whereas  one  half-starved  will  be  likely 
to  have  its  growth  retarded,  and  certain  features  and 
functions  changed  or  diseontinued. 

Clearly  strict  vegetarians  must  be  scarce  in  caverns 
because  of  the  general  paucity  of  vegeta])le  life.  Still, 
where  there  is  some  such  matter,  it  is  utilized.  Cave 
crickets,  centipedes,  and  myriapods,  like  the  Pscndo- 
treniia  and  hairy  Scotcrpcs,  are  known  to  live  on  the 
debris  of  leaves  and  wood,  swept  in  annually  ])y  the 
overflowing  streams.  The  cave  carnivora  are  scavengers, 
subsisting  on  dead  bats,  rats,  and  refuse  dragged  in  ])y 
beasts  or  left  by  human  visitors.  The  cave  crawfish 
(the  Canibarus  pellucidus)  feeds  on  acpiatic  Crustacea 
which  it  deftly  extracts  with  its  pincerlike  claws  from 
under  flat  stones.  The  blind-fish  catches  the  young 
crawfish  when  it  can,  and  eats  its  eggs,  preying  also  on 
the  Crongonijx  and  other  Crustacea,  and,  we  regret  to 
say,  on  minnows  of  its  own  kind.  We  have  known  one 
instance  where  a  l)lin(I-fish  caught  and  swallowed  a 
fish  that  had  eyes  and  ouglit  to  have  known  enough  to 
escape.  And,  such  is  tiie  coni'ormity  to  conditions  where 
plenty  is  the  exception  and  sc;ii-city  llie  rule,  Ili;it  I  have 
kept  blind-fish  for  a  wliole  year  in  an  a(|nai'inm  wliere 
there  was  no  other  food  than  the  animaleuUe  and  eon- 


116  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

tci'voi  growing  in  the  water.  Experiments  of  naturalists 
lead  to  the  conjecture  that  the  blind-hsh  are  aided  in 
search  for  prey  by  certain  terminal  buds  on  the  snout, 
the  head,  and  on  the  body. 

All  observers  agree  that,  when  in  captivity,  the  blind- 
fish  tlirive  best  in  the  dark.  They  are  certainly  sensitive 
to  the  light,  though  sightless.  When  placed  in  a  trough 
partly  covered  and  partly  exposed  to  the  light,  they 
instinctively  prefer  the  darkened  portion  of  the  trough. 
Eigenmann  made  a  series  of  interesting  experiments, 
not  only  in  aquaria  with  ])lackened  tunnels  and  parti- 
tions, but  also  in  those  that  were  illumined  by  the 
various  colors  of  the  spectrum,  in  order  to  see  what  reac- 
tion might  follow.  His  conclusion  was  that  the  lilind- 
fish  strongly  prefer  red  and  shun  blue. 

Sloan,  Packard,  Blatchley,  and  others  agree  with 
our  own  observations  as  to  the  torpidity  of  the  organs 
of  hearing  in  blind-fish,  although  it  is  said  that  "the 
auditory  sjDots"  exist  in  them  just  as  in  fish  in  open 
streams.  Eigenmann  says  that  ''lilind-fishes  detect 
vibrations  with  a  frequency  of  one  hundred  per  second, 
by  means  of  sense  organs  in  the  skin."  Pie  adds  very 
curious  remarks  as  to  the  amatory  contests  in  which  the 
rival  males  vigorously  punch  and  thrust  each  other  while 
they  quarrel  for  their  mates. 

A  general  l)ut  erroneous  notion  prevails  that  the 
Amhhjopsis  is  viviparous.  An  instance  is  often  quoted 
in  which  an  adult  fish  was  left  alone  in  an  aquarium  and 
the  next  day  was  found  with  eight  little  ones.  The  ex- 
phmation  is  that  the  young  remain  for  about  a  month 
in  the  maternal  gill  pouch  after  lieing  hatched  from  the 
egg,  where  they  had  previously  been  for  about  twenty- 
eight  days. 


.,»*v  ■    •      ) 


'i&^  -m 


HEAD  01^  TYPHLICHTHYS  SUBTERRANET.^ 
(Mammoth  Cave.) 


H 


iliiia^u^MfcW^***  riT»Tiw 


HEAD  OF  TYPHLICHTHYS  OSBORNI. 
(From  Horse  Cave,  near  Mammoth  Cave.) 


I'.ioto  liy  KiKCnmanii. 


HADENCKCUS  SUBTERRANEUS  (Scudder). 

A  cave  cricket — not  grasshopper,  but  of  the  katydid  family 
of  Orthoptera.  The  pigmental  eyes  are  sightless.  The  thorax  is 
still  somewhat  brown,  showing  that  the  bleached  condition  ob- 
servable in  most  cave  animals  has  not  yet  been  hereditarily 
established.  Observe  the  extraordinary  antennit,  as  an  instance 
of  compensation. 


BLIND  ANIMALS,  117 

As  early  as  1856  the  writer  visited  certain  romantic 
caves  along  the  valley  of  the  White  River,  near  ^iitchell, 
Indiana,  where  he  saw  blind-fish  and  blind  crawfish, 
which  he  also  ol)served  in  other  Indiana  caves.  ^lore 
recently  the  ]\Iitcliell  caves  have  come  into  notice  through 
the  researches  of  Professor  Carl  H.  Eigenmann,  of  the 
Indiana  State  University.  Doctor  Eigenmann  began  to 
give  attention  to  subterranean  fauna  in  1886,  and  ten 
years  later  visited  the  Twin  Caves  and  Dalton's  Spring, 
at  Mitchell,  where  he  found  abundant  material  for  his 
biological  laboratory.  In  1893  the  State  Legislature 
put  aljout  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  of  the  land 
around  these  eaves  in  the  keeping  of  the  trustees  of  the 
University,  at  his  suggestion  and  to  further  his  researches 
and  experiments.  Thus  encouraged,  and  also  aided  by 
grants  from  scientific  societies,  most  valua])le  materials 
have  been  obtained,  as  well  as  from  various  other  caves 
in  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  elsewhere.  The  re- 
sults were  made  public  ])y  a  numl)er  of  papers  read  before 
scientific  societies,  and  in  bulletins  from  the  University. 
In  lyuU  these  were  collated,  with  much  new  matter,  and 
published,  as  a  quarto  monograph,  l)y  the  Carnegie  Insti- 
tution of  Washington,  under  the  title,  "Cave  Vertebrates 
of  America — a  Study  of  Degenerative  Evolution;  by 
Carl  II.  Eigenmann,  Professor  of  Zoology,  Indiana  Uni- 
versity." This  exhaustive  work  comprises  two  hundred 
and  forty-one  pages,  with  thirty-one  full  plates  and 
seventy-two  text-figures.  It  th'als  with  cavern  fauna 
as  found  all  over  the  continent,  from  California  to 
Cuba;  but  the  main  part  of  the  work  concerns  blind 
vertebrates  and  their  eyes,  descri])ing  twelve  vai-ie- 
ties,  eight  of  them  belonging  to  the  Amhhjopsida'.  Only 
seven  hundred  copies  were  printed,  and  lience  the 
volume  is  not  generally  accessible. 


118  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

It  is  no  new  idea  that  subterranean  life  is  highly 
instructive  concerning  the  theory  of  evolution,  the  writer 
himself  having  repeatedly  spoken  on  the  subject  before 
scientific  societies.  Evidently,  if  degeneration  or  devolu- 
tion follows  as  the  result  of  the  seclusion  of  certaia 
kinds  of  plants  and  animals  in  dark  caverns,  it  must  bo 
by  the  withdrawal  of  forces  and  causes  that,  under  favor- 
able environment,  would  work  for  evolution.  For  ex- 
ample, if  we  discover  the  partial  or  total  absence  of 
certain  muscles,  nerves,  or  organs,  as  the  result  of 
degeneration  carried  on  for  many  generations,  the  in- 
ference is  fair  that  these  atrophied  parts  would  be  duly 
evolved  again  were  the  process  reversed  and  the  cave 
animals  to  live  for  a  sufficiently  long  period  under  the 
same  conditions  as  their  open-air  congeners,  in  the  sun- 
light and  with  abundant  food. 

Every  one  has  noticed  how  potatoes  and  turnips  put 
forth  colorless  shoots  when  growing  down  cellar.  It 
is  even  possible  to  raise  a  crop  under  such  conditions; 
but  the  tubers  are  small  and  waxy,  showing  depaupera- 
tion. Imagine  the  process  to  go  on  for  years  or  centuries, 
and  the  result  might  be  a  plant  hardly  to  be  recognized 
by  comparison  with  the  vegetables  growing  in  the  garden. 
Just  as  aquatic  plants  in  cave  waters  are  bleached,  so 
with  the  true  cavern  fauna.  The  crawfish  and  crusta- 
ceans are  white,  or  at  best  a  pale  brown.  So  with  the 
blind-fish,  the  myriapods,  the  spiders,  etc.  Exceptions 
excite  suspicion.  Cave  flies,  for  instance,  which  are  a 
dull  black,  are  able  to  fly  in  and  out  with  occasional 
access  to  the  open  air. 

Plainly  natural  selection,  or  self-protection  by  choice 
of  coloration,  can  not  explain  the  cave-lileaching  for  ani- 
mals dwelling  in  perix'tual  and  utter  darkness.  The 
bleaching  seems  simi)ly  due  to  the  atrophy  of  those  cells 


i^^"" 


"nevv 


RIVER, 


^/K 


:^^ 


ir^ 


poov3 


/    Chme.'.e  Wall. 

2  Entrance  to  New  Discovery. 

3  Entrance  to  Wild  Conse  Chase  and 

River  Region. 

4  Uncle  Tom\  Pool 

5  Lizard  Spring 

6  Turn  Pits 

7  Rum-  of  Carthage 


12 


13|4 


15 


17 


8  Rock:   Island 

9  Sandstone  Tumhiedim 

10  Ruins  oj  Martiniqu 

11  Register  Acenue 

12  Starry  Heaoens  and  Milky  i^oy. 

13  Bearskin  Rohe. 

1 4  Phosphate  Mountain. 

15  Hull  oJ  the  Great  Western. 
I  6  Catacombs. 

17  Pulpit  Rock- 

IH  Cascade  Pit 

19  Pearly  Pool. 

20  Kangaroo  Bend. 


COLOSSAL  CAVERN 


COLOSSAL 
DOME 


18   19 
20' 


°00L' 
1^ 


HORACE 

c 

HOVEY 

DM  SURVET    B 

Y    E 

DGAR  VAUCH 

AMD  W     L 

M 

ARSHALL 

SCALE 

OF 

FEET 

0     50    100 

50  2W  250  30D 

BLIXD  ANIMALS.  119 

in  which,  under  the  stimulus  of  light,  pigmental  matter 
is  secreted. 

The  blind-fish  furnish  a  typical  example  of  panmixia 
(a  term  literally  meaning  "all  mixed  up").  We  can 
imagine  the  first  colony,  captured  by  some  catastroi)he 
in  underground  waters,  to  have  had  their  eyes  simply 
weakened  by  disuse.  In  following  generations  the  eyes 
would  be  shrunken  and  useless.  This  might  begin  by 
individual  degeneration  (ontogenetic  panmixia)  ;  and 
then  racial  degeneration  (or  phjdogenetic  panmixia) 
would  follow.  Fish  with  atrophied  eyes  would  transmit 
blindness  to  broods  of  young  fisli  till  a  ])lind  fauna  was 
established. 

Let  us  note  with  almost  pathetic  interest  the  com- 
pensations given  to  the  cave  animals  by  Him  who  marks 
the  sparrow's  fall.  This  feature  of  evolutionary  work 
has  hardly  had  the  attention  it  deserves.  In  cave 
insects,  spiders,  and  Crustacea  the  form  is  elongated  till 
in  some  cases  it  is  truly  grotesque.  ]\[any  a  time  I  have 
held  a  burning  candle  so  near  a  cave  cricket  as  to  stop 
for  fear  of  setting  it  afire;  and  the  experiment  was 
regarded  by  it  with  indifference.  But  tlie  least  finger- 
touch  of  one  of  its  extremely  elongated  and  sensitive 
feelers,  delicate  as  a  spiderwel),  would  give  the  alarm, 
causing  it  to  run  away  witli  ludicrous  celerity.  r'nv(> 
beetles  find  their  comiicnsation  in  long  stiff  bristh'-iike 
hairs,  so  that  they  move  a])out  with  remarkal)le  facility. 
We  have  kept  in  the  same  tank  tlie  common  crawfish 
(Camharus  Bartonii)  and  tlic  l)Iiii(l  crawfish  {Camhani'i 
pcJlucidus)  and  observed  their  habits  of  feeding.  A 
moi'sel  tlirown  to  the  first  would  Ix^  seized  and  disposed 
of  at  once.  But  if  dropped  near  the  blind  creature  it 
would  dart  back  and  wave  its  long  feelers,  only  approach- 


120  MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

ing  the  morsel  by  a  series  of  cautious  strategic  move- 
ments. Do  not  forget  this  beneficent  law  of  compensa- 
tion. Let  us  not  lay  too  heavy  a  load  on  favorite 
theories,  which  certainly  do  account  for  many,  but  not 
for  all  things.  Evolution  is  limited  by  environment  and 
its  process  may  even  be  reversed  and  become  devohition. 
Let  us  not  hurry.  We  are  not  like  a  sworn  jury  that 
nuist  find  a  verdict  and  l)e  discharged.  There  is  plenty 
of  time.  "Wait  and  investigate.  Pigeon-hole  every  faci, 
and  wait. 

The  best  definition  of  evolution  describes  it  as  a  con- 
tinual differentiation  of  the  complex  from  the  simple. 
First,  simple  forms;  then  the  complex.  But  in  cave 
fauna  we  find  the  process  reversed;  the  complex  forms 
are  reverting  to  those  that  are  more  simple.  Our  limits 
forbid  our  either  following  further  such  fascinating 
problems,  or  taxing  the  reader's  patience  by  moralizing. 
Yet  we  may  affirm  anew  our  cherished  faith  that  all 
forms  of  life  exist  and  go  on  under  a  Divine  plan, 
whether  by  progression  or  retardation,  by  deprivation 
or  compensation,  ])y  evolution  or  devolution,  environed 
by  darkness  or  light,  amid  profound  caverns  or  amid 
the  brave  sunshine.  ]\Iany  things  beyond  our  immediate 
comprehension  are  worthy  of  patient  and  prolonged  in- 
vestigation. We  may  close  this  chapter  by  quoting  the 
oft-(iuoted  words  of  the  former  poet-laureate  of  Eng- 
land : 

"F]ower  in  the  crannied  Avail, 
I  jiluek  you  out  of  the  crannies, 
Hold  you  here,  root  and  all  in  my  hand, 
Little  flower:  but  if  I  could  understand 
What  you  are,  root  and  all,  and  all  in  all, 
I  should  know  what  God  and  man  is." 


Vaughan's  Dome. 


Grand  Crossing. 


THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN 

By  HORACE  CARTER  HOVEV 

IX  the  vicinity  of  ^Mammoth  Cave  are  numerous  smaller 
caves  and  grottoes,  each  with  its  peculiarities  and 
attractions.     One  of  these  has  the  odd  name  of  the 

Bed-quilt  Cave,  due  it  is  said  to  the  fact  that  an 
Indian  quilt  was  once  found  there.  No  particular  in- 
terest was  taken  in  it  until  recently.  No  one  knew  that 
it  led  to  one  of  the  most  magnificent  caverns  in  America 
till  after  the  latter  had  been  otherwise  discovered. 

The  late  ]\Ir.  William  Garvin,  a  veteran  soldier  and 
guide  through  the  mazes  of  the  Mammoth  Cave,  told  the 
writer  that,  on  the  loth  of  July,  1895,  he  observed  a 
hole  in  a  hillside  adjoining  his  own  farm.  Entering  it 
he  made  his  way  into  a  large  dome,  of  which  the  hole 
vvas  the  apex.  Bringing  ladders,  he  and  his  neighbors 
climbed  down  for  sixty-six  feet  to  the  floor  of  the  dome, 
whence  they  pursued  a  winding  way  amid  the  rugged 
rocks  in  a  northerly  direction  for  some  twelve  hundred 
feet,  passing  numerous  objects  of  interest.  Finally  they 
were  ))rought  abrui)tly  against  a  vertical  wall,  whose 
floor  was  visible  thirty-six  feet  below  where  they  stood. 
By  means  of  their  ladders  they  eliml)ed  down  to  the  bot- 
tom, and  noted  the  five  projecting  points  that  suggested 
to  the  writer  the  name  of  the  Quinque  Dome. 

An  article  over  my  signature  appeared  in  the  Scien- 
tific American  August  29,  1896,  ascri])ing  the  iii-st  ex- 
ploration to  a  young  man  named  Pike  Chapman.  The 
discovery  has  also  been  claimed  for  Robert  Woodson, 
who  is  said  to  have  found  it  while  searching  for  a  spring. 
Possibly  there  were  several  simultaneous  discoveries; 
but  we  give  full  credit  to  the  statement  made  to  us  per- 


122  THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN. 

sonally  by  ]\Ir.  William  Garvin.  All  the  original  en- 
trances have  been  wisely  closed  up  by  the  present  owners, 
partly  to  prevent  spoliation  and  partly  because  the 
natural  openings  were  hard  to  reach  and  for  other 
reasons  inconvenient. 

In  January,  1896,  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad 
Company  purchased  what  is  well  named  '"Tlie  Colossal 
Cavern"  from  the  late  Dr.  L.  W.  Ilazen,  on  whose  farm 
the  first  known  entrance  was  located,  and  for  a  time  they 
employed  him  as  their  agent.  As  further  explorations 
were  pushed  in  various  directions,  the  Company  liought 
all  the  land  under  which  its  course  was  found  to  run, 
and  expended  large  sums  in  widening  narrow  passages, 
smootliing  rough  places,  building  stairways  where  these 
were  desirable,  and  did  many  other  things  for  the  com- 
fort of  visitors.  On  their  special  invitation  the  writer 
visited  the  Colossal  Cavern  in  1903,  and  made  a  map  of  it 
from  the  notes  of  a  survey  by  Edgar  Vaughan  and  W. 
L.  Marshall,  which  has  been  extensively  used  in  the  rail- 
road advertising  brochures,  and  appears  also  along  with  a 
descriptive  article  by  me  in  the  Scientific  American 
Supplement,  November  21,  1903,  parts  of  which  have 
been  published  by  others  without  giving  the  author  due 
credit.  (See  also  my  article  in  Volume  YI  of  the  eleventh 
edition  of  the  EncyelopaKlia  Britannica.) 

On  the  occasion  of  my  visit  the  first  use  was  made 
here  of  individual  acetylene  lamps,  by  whose  aid  the 
writer  did  some  fairly  good  work  in  subterranean  pho- 
tography, the  results  lieing  ])u])lislied  at  the  time.  I 
was  accompanied  by  the  noted  arelueologist,  ^Ir.  Gerard 
Fowke,  and  our  guides  were  ^Messrs.  J.  ^I.  and  ^Morris 
Hunt,  to  whose  kind  attentions  we  were  much  indebted. 

So  accurate  was  the  instrumental  survey  already  re- 


Samson's  Pillar. 


S-^^  ^-  /  ^-3  . 


THE   COLOSSAL   CAVERN.  123 

ferred  to  above,  that  hy  its  means  the  Company  found 
themselves  able  to  force  a  new  entrance  at  a  locality 
where  it  was  most  desired  by  themselves ;  and  this  is  now 
the  only  mode  of  access  to  the  cavern.  It  is  at  the 
foot  of  a  steep  hill,  facing  the  west,  and  located  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  entrance  to  the  Mammoth  Cave.  The 
road  thither  winds  along  the  margin  of  Eden  Valley, 
into  which  it  presently  descends.  Both  this  and  the 
nearby  Doyle  Valley  are  true  "sink  holes"  of  great 
magnitude,  with  groves,  farms,  and  habitations,  but 
without  running  water,  though  gathering  volumes  of 
water  during  rainfalls,  to  empty  them  through  pits 
into  caverns  underneath.  Where  these  orifices  have 
been  closed  up  there  are  now  ponds,  with  reeds  and 
rushes. 

The  entrance  to  Colossal  Cavern,  being  wholly  arti- 
ficial, has  no  special  beauty,  but  is  simply  a  convenient 
door  and  stairway,  in  passing  through  which  we  notice 
the  outward  draft  of  air  that  extinguishes  our  lamps, 
to  l)e  relighted  when  fairly  underground.  The  rock 
from  which  the  cave  is  excavated  is  limestone  of 
homogenous  texture.  ^lidway  down  the  stairs  we  step 
aside  to  inspect  what  is  termed  the  Chinese  Wall,  which 
forms  the  rim  of  a  pool  in  a  room  al)out  one  huudred 
feet  in  diameter.  Smnll  stalactites  cover  the  ceiling, 
and  there  are  numerous  stalagmites,  one  of  the  largest 
of  them  being  named  the  Pagoda,  from  its  fancied  re- 
semblance to  an  Eastern  temple  n\'  tli;it  deseriptiou. 

Some  two  liundi-ed  feel  within.  ;i  path  diverges  to 
the  so-called  "New  l)is('()V<M'y "  imd  to  the  closed  entrance 
from  the;  Coates  farm.  Still  Ix'vonil  it  is  ;i  r;iiiihliiig 
way  that  is  known  ;is  the  Wild  (loose  Chase,  because 
it  seems  to  get  nowhere. 


124  THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN, 

On  our  right,  as  we  proceed  in  the  main  cave,  is 
Uncle  Tom's  Pool,  where  we  found  the  only  specimen 
that  we  saw  in  the  cave  of  the  blind  crawfish  {Cambarus 
pellucidus).  We  were  assured,  however,  that  blind  fisli 
and  other  cave  fauna  abounded  in  the  river  region;  and 
we  saw  in  various  parts  of  the  cave  blind  beetles,  flies, 
spiders,  and  crickets. 

On  our  left,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  l)eyond 
Uncle  Tom's  Pool,  we  were  startled  hy  seeing  on  the 
brink  of  a  spring  what  looked  like  a  great  lizard,  but 
which  proved  to  be  only  a  grotesque  mass  of  metal- 
stained  flint,  three  feet  long,  like  a  lizard  in  lironze. 
We  named  the  canopy  over  it  the  Saurian  Dome.  Near 
Armstrong  Pit  and  the  Horseshoe  Dome  we  observed 
many  geodes  in  the  wall,  enclosing  crystals  of  quartz 
and  calcite.  We  also  found  fossil  corals,  known  as 
" Zaphrcntis,"  having  value  in  determining  the  geologi- 
cal horizon  of  the  limestone. 

In  1898  ]\Ir.  Edgar  Yaughan  crawled  through  a 
small  hole  on  the  right,  distant  some  five  hundred  feet 
from  the  entrance,  and  found  that  it  opened  into  an 
enormous  dome,  now  bearing  his  name.  This  narrow 
opening  has  been  artificially  enlarged  for  easy  access  to 
Vaughan's  Dome,  which  hy  careful  measurement  is 
twenty-six  feet  wide  (at  one  point  forty  feet),  three 
hundred  feet  long,  and  by  balloon  tests  seventy-eight  feet 
high.  The  ])alloons  used  by  ^Ir.  ^laypother  in  making 
this  measurement  were  inflated  by  hot  air,  which  is  a 
better  method  than  l)y  hydrogen  gas,  besides  being  less 
expensive.  The  first  l)alloon  released  shot  to  the  roof 
like  a  rocket,  striking  with  such  force  as  to  careen  and 
ca^eh  fire,  burning  the  retaining  cord.  Later  experi- 
ments, more  carefully  made,  were  perfectly  successful. 


THE    COLOSSAL    CAVERN.  125 

At  Grand  Crossing  the  main  cave  is  crossed  l)y 
Florence  Avenue,  on  a  lower  level,  after  running  parallel 
with  it  for  several  hundred  feet.  This  avenue  has 
highly  decorated  walls.  Midway  in  it  are  the  Twin  Pits, 
into  one  of  which  falls  the  Musical  Shower,  a  cascade 
with  remarkable  reverberations.  Florence  Avenue  enters 
the  main  cave  at  the  Grand  Galleries.  Along  the  walls 
are  many  gypsum  formations,  resembling  various  kinds 
of  flowers.  Beyond  the  Lovers'  Gallery,  four  hundred 
feet  long  by  thirty  feet  wide,  is  a  still  grander 
enlargement,  styled  the  Ruins  of  Carthage,  reseml)ling 
th3  demolished  walls  and  l)atthMii('nts  of  a  great  metropo- 
lis. Taking  into  consideration  the  dimensions  of  this  vast 
hall,  four  hundred  feet  long  ])y  one  hundred  feet  wide 
and  thirty  feet  high,  then  noting  the  fact  that  its  nearly 
flat  ceiling  is  one  immense  block  of  limestone,  and 
reflecting  on  the  additional  fact  that  above  it  is  an  im- 
mense mass  of  rocky  strata,  upholding  forest  trees, 
we  wonder  how  such  a  flat  roof  can  support  such  an 
enormous  superincumbent  weight.  The  only  object  that 
looks  at  all  like  a  support,  though  it  can  not  properly  be  so 
regarded,  is  wliat  is  called  Samson's  Pillar,  thirty  feet  in 
diniiictcr,  n({'r  which  the  roof  curves  into  an  arcli. 

In  this  vicinity  we  saw  many  fine  saccharine  incrusta- 
tions, as  if  some  candy-maker  had  flung  eartU:)ads  of 
gum-drops  and  other  confectionery  against  the  walls. 
Faces  and  figures,  some  lovely  and  others  grotesque, 
stand  out  from  nooks  and  corners  in  startling  relief. 
One  that  is  especially  lifelike  is  known  as  Alice  Ring- 
gold's Face. 

A  huge  rock  on  our  riglit,  just  Ix'voud  Samson's 
Pillar,  has  a  remarkable  I'escnililance  to  the  stern  of  an 


126  THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN. 

ocean  stcanu  r  witli  her  rudder  hard  aport,  though  un- 
slii[){)ed,  and  is  an  almost  exact  reproduction  of  a  for- 
mation in  the  ^lammoth  Cave  known  as  the  Great 
Eastern.  Tremendous  forces  have  been  at  work,  as  is 
proved  hy  the  Ruins  of  ^lartinique  and  the  Catacombs. 
AVe  measured  an  enormous  block,  sixty  feet  long  by 
twenty  feet  wide  and  ten  feet  thick,  like  the  sarcophagus 
of  an  ancient  Goliath  of  Gath.  At  a  point  two  thousand 
feet  from  the  entrance  is  a  tumble-down  called  the 
Sandstone  ^Mountain,  where  the  cave  cuts  through  the 
St.  Louis  limestone  to  the  overlying  Chester  sandstone. 
It  is  said  that  the  top  of  tliis  mountain  is  only  twenty 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  On  the  wall  near  by 
we  saw  an  exquisite  branching  variety  of  the  coral  known 
as  Tuhipora,  sixteen  inches  long  by  six  wide.  A  number 
of  interesting  oljjects  have  l)een  passed  in  reaching  this 
point;  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Everett  Rock, 
fallen  from  above  and  leaning  against  the  wall;  Table 
Rock,  at  the  foot  of  Sandstone  ^Mountain,  and  several 
other  detached  blocks  here  and  there,  indicating  the  pos- 
sibility of  some  shock  as  of  an  earthquake,  or  other  tre- 
mendous force,  that  hurled  them  down. 

Thus  far  we  have  gone  in  a  southerly  direction;  but 
now  we  turn  almost  due  east  for  some  fifteen  liundretl  feet 
and  note  what  we  can  find.  Beyond  the  spacious  Audi- 
torium is  Register  Avenue,  where  visitors  are  allowed 
to  inscribe  their  names,  as  in  a  rocky  album.  At  the 
Phosphate  ]Mountain — where  the  original  owner  made 
experiments,  only  to  find  that  it  was  a  false  phosphate — 
the  cavern  divides  around  a  so-called  "island"  six 
hundred  feet  long,  near  whose  farther  end  begins  the 
"Old  Bed-quilt  Cave"  already  mentioned,  and  that 
stretches  away  to  the  northeast  for  one  thousand  five 


Entrance  to  Colossal  Dome. 


Above  Pearly  Pool. 


THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN.  129 

entrance.  Our  torches  do  little  more  than  to  make  the 
darkness  visible.  Our  acetylene  lamps  cast  rays  of  light 
across  to  the  wall,  fifty-six  feet  distant,  but  flasli  upward 
in  A'ain.  Burning  magnesium  ribbon,  with  which  every 
cave-hunter  should  be  supplied,  and  that  can  be  ignited 
by  a  simple  match,  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  apex 
of  what  has  fitly  been  named  the  Colossal  Dome,  the 
grandest  room  in  all  this  region  of  silence  and  of  night. 

An  ingenious  method  of  illumination  has  been  devised 
by  IMr.  Hunt,  making  use  of  the  old  windlass  whereby 
men  used  to  be  lowered,  as  already  related.  The  rope 
has  been  removed,  but  a  cord  takes  its  place,  both  ends 
of  it  being  lowered  to  the  floor.  To  one  end  was 
fastened  a  wire  holding  a  fire-basket,  in  which  were  put 
oiled  rags,  chemicals,  and  a  quantity  of  magnesium 
ril)bon.  Then,  igniting  this  mass  of  combustibles,  we 
pulled  on  the  other  end  of  the  long  cord,  thus  hoisting 
the  huge  fireball  to  the  apex.  This  made  visible  the 
snow-white  fungus,  many  feet  long,  waving  from  the 
timbers  of  the  decaying  bridge.  The  drops  of  water 
falling  like  shot  from  the  summit  to  the  floor  spai'kle 
as  gems,  and  add  their  music  to  the  occasion.  We  tried 
to  fancy  how  it  would  seem  to  have  a  winter  cascade 
thunder  do^^^l  on  the  rocks  where  we  stood.  AVe  raised 
and  lowered  at  will  the  glowing  fire-basket,  bringing  into 
view  the  series  of  immense  rings,  each  eight  or  ten  feet 
thick,  that  make  up  the  wall,  finding  them  differently 
tinted  and  some  of  them  finely  fringed  with  stalaetitie 
drapery.  Half  the  floor  is  covered  by  a  pool,  whose 
waters  escape  under  a  low  ledge  to  regions  as  yet  un- 
explored. ]\Iention  should  be  made  of  th(>  rein.-ii-knble 
echoes  that  add  to  the  charm  of  this  extraordinaiy  dome. 

The  Pearly  Pool  route  is  entered  by  a  tunnel  sixty 
feet  long.     We  i)ause  a   moiDt'ut  on  Ihe  verge  of  a  pit 


130  THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN. 

eighty-six  feet  deep,  around  which  are  some  curiously 
formed  stalagmites  resembling  various  birds  and  beasts. 
Ages  ago  a  big  stalactite  fell  with  its  tip  under  the  drip- 
pings of  a  cascade,  which  left  on  it  a  rich  nacrous  in- 
crustation. The  basin,  three  or  four  feet  wide,  that 
catches  these  waters,  is  the  Pearly  Pool,  and  glistens 
witli  lumdreds  of  cave  pearls.  Some  nameless,  graceless 
scamp  has  struck  his  hammer  into  the  middle  of  it, 
thus  making  an  outlet  for  the  water  and  terminating 
the  pearl-making  l)usiness,  at  least  for  a  time. 

The  Kangaroo  Bend  opens  into  the  Snowy  Valley, 
some  six  hundred  feet  long,  where  fine  gypsum  forma- 
tions abound.  This  valley  ends  in  a  tumble-down  where 
copious  chalybeate  springs  fiow  over  iron-stained  stalag- 
mites. The  water  is  palatable,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
it  possesses  valuable  medicinal  properties. 

It  only  remains  to  add  a  few  words  about  what  will 
perhaps  be  styled  the  "New  Discovery"  until  some 
more  appropriate  title  shall  have  been  found.  It  begins 
near  the  entrance  to  the  cave,  and  has  been  surveyed 
for  two  thousand  linear  feet.  So  much  of  it  has  to  be 
traversed  in  a  stooping  position,  or  on  one's  hands  and 
knees,  that  its  length  seems  at  least  twice  that  distance. 
Patience  finds  its  reward  as  we  are  introduced  to  a 
region  utterly  unlike  anything  else  in  the  vicinity, 
though  similar  places  are  to  be  seen  in  certain  caves 
in    Indiana. 

The  bed-rock  is  a  fine-grained  magnesian  limestone, 
resembling  that  used  for  lithographic  purposes.  Indeed 
the  material  has  been  satisfactorily  tested  for  this  use 
since  our  visit.  For  many  hundred  feet  the  path  has 
been  artificially  cut  through  this  l)eautiful  rock.  On 
every  hand  we  behold  on  walls  and  roof  the  most  charm- 
ing rosettes  and  intricately  convoluted  helictites.     The 


Iviitrancc  to  Colossal   CaviTii. 


Henry  Clay  Monument. 


THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN.  127 

hundred  feet  and  then  turns  westward  for  the  same  dis- 
tance, thus  making  the  surveyed  portion  three  thousand 
feet  in  all,  though  often  given  as  having  a  much  greater 
length.  In  it  are  pits,  domes,  tumbkj-downs,  and  various 
more  or  less  interesting  formations;  l)ut  it  is  not  included 
in  the  route  over  which  visitors  are  usually  taken. 

At  the  termination  of  the  Long  Island  is  the  Pulpit 
on  one  side  and  the  Dining  Room  on  the  other.  The 
ceiling  of  the  Dining  I\oom  is  the  native  rock,  as  smooth 
as  if  finished  by  trowt'l  and  float;  a  board  Hoor  is  laid 
over  the  sand,  and  there  are  tables  and  benches  for 
the  accommodation  of  those  who  wish  to  lunch.  Beyond 
is  the  Bicycle  Avenue,  trending  to  the  right  for  three 
hundred  feet  and  then  rejoining  the  main  cave. 

The  crystalline  formations  are  wonderful.  The  roof 
under  which  we  are  now  passing  is  spangled  with 
efflorescences  that  mimic  the  starry  heavens,  with  here 
and  there  a  comet  or  a  meteoric  shower.  Gypsum  crusts 
sometimes  hang  from  al)0ve  in  sections  several  j^irds 
square,  seemingly  ready  to  drop  if  jarred.  Both 
straight  and  curved  crystals  of  selenite  abound,  the 
latter  known  as  "oulopholites. "  So  many  and  splendid 
are  they  in  one  hall  as  to  cause  it  to  be  named  "The 
Grand  Avenue  of  Flowers."  On  the  walls  singh'  spikes 
six  or  eight  inches  long  are  frequent,  and  here  and 
there  we  find  a  branching  mass  one  or  two  feet  long, 
like  crystal  stag-horns.  Delicate  lacelike  webs  are  spi-end 
between  clusters  of  flowers.  The  Bear-Robe  looks  like 
a  mass  of  fur  spread  on  the  wall  to  dry:  but  we  find  it 
made  up  of  hundreds  of  cryst;ils  of  seleuite  wliose  tips 
are  stained  by  some  black  mineral,  and  the  body  of  the 
mass  is  a  soft  grey.  There  are  also  fine  botryoitlal,  or 
grapelike,  clusters. 


128  THE    COLOSSAL    CAVERN. 

Strange  enlargements  and  ramifications  of  the  cav- 
ern now  come  to  view,  with  here  and  there  a  window- 
like oi)ening  into  ghostly  chambers  whence  weird  ap- 
paritions seem  to  beckon  to  ns.  Wonders  crowd  upon 
us.  Climlnng  a  steep  acclivity,  the  highest  elevation 
in  the  cave,  whence  a  ladder  connects  with  a  sliort 
passage  leading  to  a  bridge  across  the  apex  of  an  enor- 
mous dome  whose  i1oor  lies  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  feet  Ijelow,  we  drop  fireballs,  by  which  the  walls 
are  illuminated  as  the  masses  of  flame  gyrate  to  and 
fro.  Formerly  daring  adventurers  were  lowered  by  a 
windlass  to  the  bottom  of  this  mighty  dome ;  but  now 
there  is  a  less  dangerous  way. 

We  descend  a  flight  of  steps  and  pass  through  a 
gigantic  gateway,  twenty  feet  wide  and  sixty  feet 
high,  whose  right-hand  support  is  the  largest  stalag- 
mite in  the  cavern,  its  height  being  fully  eighty  feet. 
The  writer  suggested  for  this  noble  shaft  the  name  of 
the  Henry  Clay  ^Monument,  and  the  name  was  approved 
by  the  management.  On  the  left  of  the  gateway  is  the 
finest  example  of  the  synclinal  it  has  ever  been  my  lot 
to  see  lielow  ground.  Tlic  thick  strata  above  had  to 
yield  to  the  enormous  pressure  brought  upon  them,  and 
were  thus  crushed  into  the  reversed  arches  that  we  be- 
hold. 

Passing  reverently  through  what  reminded  me  of  the 
famous  Redeemer  Gate  of  the  Kremlin  at  ^Moscow,  we 
descend  still  farther  by  stone  steps  that  wind  around 
the  base  of  the  huge  alabaster  monument  named  for 
Kentucky's  matchless  orator  and  statesman,  and  sud- 
denly find  ourselves  in  what  seems  like  an  open  space, 
while  aloft  and  around  us  is  utter  darkness.  The  guides 
tell  us  that  we  are  at  the  lowest  level  of  the  cavern,  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet  vertically  lower  than  the  original 


Everett  Rock. 


Florence  Avenue. 


THE  COLOSSAL  CAVERN.  131 

fact  that  no  names  have  as  yet  been  given  to  places  aii'l 
formations  in  the  "New  Discovery"  makes  description 
difficult.  Ilelictite  Grotto  and  Kosette  Chamber  are  so 
called  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  the  formations 
thus  indicated.  This  part  of  the  Colossal  Cavern  is  a 
perfect  flower-garden,  where  the  excited  fancy  may  find 
in  unsullied  loveliness  a  crystal  reproduction  of  almost 
every  floral  gem.  The  management  wisely  guartl  these 
matchless  decorations  from  spoliation ;  but  it  is  also  to  be 
hoped  that  such  a  wilderness  of  subterranean  charms 
may  soon  be  made  accessible  (if  this  has  not  already  beeu 
done),  so  that  it  may  be  enjoyed  by  the  general  public. 
Meanwhile  we  understand  the  "New  Discovery"  can  be 
visited  only  by  special  arrangement  with  the  custodians 
of  the  cave,  and  even  then  only  ])y  small  parties.  The 
general  similarity  and  the  close  proximity  of  the  Colossal 
and  the  JMammoth  eaves  make  it  not  at  all  improbable 
that  they  are  connected  hy  avenues  as  yet  undiscovered. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  that  tliey  ai-e  permanently 
and  completely  disconnected  by  means  of  such  immense 
downfalls  as  the  Eden  Valley  and  the  Doylt;  \^alley, 
through  whicli  now  runs  the  carriage-road  between  the 
entrances  to  tlie  two  cavcM-ns. 

Anyhow,  it  is  well  worth  while  for  the  tourist  who 
visits  one  of  these  vast  caverns  to  tak(>  time  to  see  the 
otlier  also.  AVIiile  iu  Diaiiy  w;iys  similar  to  each  other, 
there  are  enougli  points  of  difference  to  keep  the  interest 
alive.  In  all  ages  caverns  have  excited  the  awe  and 
admiration  of  mjinkind,  and  in  no  pari  of  llie  ktiown 
world  are  so  many  and  sn^'li  magniliccnt  (•••iverns 
clustered  togethei-  as  (»xist  in  iMJiiiondson  Couiily.  Ken- 
tucky. Such  a  marvelous  i-egion  is  worlliy,  not  merely 
of  a  hnri'ie(l  visit,  bul  of  a  leisui'rly  so.ioui'u. 


eology-Geophysics  Library 
597  Geology 
niversity  of  California 
DS  Angeles,  CA  90024 


i.irwve'SiTy  o'  C^cnta  L<>s  * 


L  006  466  631   6 


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